Changing Skies
by flowerslut
Summary: Sasuke was destined to be alone. To lead a life of solitude. Or at least that was what he'd always told himself; he would've never thought that he'd have to fight for a family he never knew he had. He may have chosen to lead a life of isolation, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be. Post-War. SasuSaku. Mild NaruHina. Rated T for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

Another year, another summer.

With its hot, sticky days and warm, windy nights. He preferred the nights to days. There were less people to avoid.

Meaning less noise.

This summer so far had been particularly hot and dry. As he walked briskly through the streets, his sandals kicked up dirt around his feet, covering the shoes in a thin layer of the dry dust. On each side of the street, vendors and merchants leaned over their carts and stands, towards the civilians passing through, urging them to buy their bags and clothes and to try their soups and produce. 'Freshly picked' the signs always claimed.

But the bruises on the fruits, as prominent as those on the tiny knees of the street kids, claimed otherwise.

Yet the merchants still boasted about the quality of their goods, calling people toward them, although always staying clear of the brightly-shining sun, always remaining under the protection of the shade.

Brim of his hat turned down slightly, hiding his face from the sun as well as from those around him, he walked in a straight line, not really needing to watch where he was going.

People always gave him a wide birth, staying out of his way. Although they didn't avoid him out of fear, just out of mistrust.

Trust. Just one of those many things hard to come across in the post-war world.

Another year, another birthday.

Today marked the 24th anniversary of the day he entered the world, cursed with a name and a set of eyes he'd never asked for in the first place. Nowadays, the Uchiha name was just about forgotten in the modern world. And where it hadn't been forgotten, it'd been stored away, deep down in the memories of those who had heard it spoken in less peaceful times. When the name would instantly strike fear and ignite a cold sweat in all people, ninja and civilian alike.  
Although now, with the newer generation beginning to rise, most who had come before the newcomers decided to leave the Uchiha name off their lips, and out of the minds of their children and students.

And Sasuke had to admit.

He couldn't have been more relieved.

Years before, as the war had finally wrapped up, and countries began to slowly put themselves back together, it wasn't long before Sasuke retreated back into the shadows, waiting to be forgotten. Hoping for it even.

And after almost 8 years of seclusion, he finally got what he wanted.

To be left completely alone.

He continued to walk in a straight line, towards the one place in this town he was comfortable enough to sit in and have a halfway-decent meal. He wasn't much for eating out—or even going out in public to begin with—but every now and again he decided to wander into town for a rare day of leisure.

Walking through the doors of the izakaya, not bothering to remove his hat, he nodded toward the man behind the bar, who in turn wordlessly poured a drink. Sliding the drink across the counter, Sasuke placed some money on the counter, before taking the glass out of the bartender's hands.

"The usual?" he asked in a gruff, scratchy voice. Sasuke nodded in response before turning and walking toward the back corner of the restaurant. Finding a small table in the corner, he settled himself in a rickety, wooden chair, facing towards the center of the izakaya, so he could see the place entirely from his spot.

It had been over a year since someone had tried to track him down. Not anyone trying to bring him back to his old village—although that had happened half a dozen times in the first year of his absence—but someone looking to receive a nice, hefty bounty and a dangerous pair of eyes.

That was the last man Sasuke had killed.

He partly hoped, for the sake of the fools who thought they could take him out, that the assassination attempts would come to a halt. He didn't want to kill any more people. Even it if was necessary.

Tipping his glass, drinking half of its contents, he placed it down on the old, worn table before him before cracking his neck and settling into his seat.

This was the one place he liked, due to the fact that most other people in the tiny village avoided it. It was old and slightly run-down, with as bad of a reputation as you could have in a place where there were only a few hundred inhabitants.

That was one of the reasons that Sasuke had chosen this place to 'settle down' in. It wasn't even on the map. Just a small town almost exactly halfway between Wind and Earth country.

After the war he had wandered for a bit, stopping in dozens of towns and villages, searching for the place where people wouldn't know of him or the Uchiha, and who would ignore an outsider and ask no questions.

He didn't like this place. But he was content with it.

A young kid, no older than 12, walked up to his table, dropped off a plate of steaming food, and without a word, walked away.

Sasuke also was quite content with the social activity—or lack thereof—in the village. If there wasn't anything that needed to be said, then for the most part, nothing would be said.

Sasuke didn't exactly like the town, but he fit it nicely. Which was something that couldn't be said anywhere else.

Another year.

Sasuke finished his drink before placing the empty glass on the table before him. A _clink_ resounding in his ears.

Another twelve months of solitude.

But he liked it this way. Ever since he was a child. Solitude was what he knew. It was something he was good at.

Or at least it was what he'd always told himself.

* * *

**A/N**: This is a preview of my first multi-chapter Naruto story. Regular updates will begin this Spring, so look out for the next installation within the next couple months. The story will be lengthy, but regardless of it's length I hope you enjoy.

Stay tuned.


	2. Chapter 2

Taking his time, he picked at the plate before him, grilled vegetables and meat still steaming. After his meal he'd retreat back to his apartment near the outskirts of town. He'd taken residence in a small loft above a tiny craft shop run by a raggedy old woman. After his return he'd most likely start and finish reading another book. Maybe even go for a run into the woods at the far end of town. As he pondered his options the sound of a glass shattering piqued his curiosity.

Glancing toward the bar at the front of the restaurant where he'd gotten his drink, he watched a tiny form pick itself up of the ground, broken glass lay around the child.

"Damnit!" The bartender swore, leaning over the bar and taking note of the child.

As the child stood up, wiping it's hands of the blackened, dirty shirt, it looked up at the bartender with wide, dark eyes. "Look at that fuckin' mess!"

The bartender mumbled to himself some more as he turned back around and searched for something. A mop maybe? Or maybe someone who would get a mop and clean up the mess for him.

The child's long hair fell before her face as she leaned down and began picking up shards of glass with tiny, shaking hands. Looking around, not knowing where to put the pieces, she placed them on a nearby table, a tinkling noise following as the glass hit the table lightly.

"Get outta here!" the bartender yelled, as he showed up around the other side of the counter with a broom in hand. Holding up the broom he nudged it toward the child, trying to usher it out of his restaurant, "No kids allowed."

The child, scared at the man's sudden appearance, dropped the rest of the glass she'd held in her hands and grabbed hold of the straps of a small knapsack she had strapped to her small back.

"Out!" The man yelled, pushing the child roughly, with the straw bristles of the broom, "I'm sick of you nasty street kids bringing your filth around here! Out!"

With a terrified look, the child turned and ran on short legs out towards the exit, slipping and stumbling slightly before running through the front door and out into the hot summer day.

Sasuke then returned his attention towards his meal, now that the tiny disruption in his day had passed. Although the ending of the war had brought peace and civility to most countries, it also produced much more than that.

Thousands of orphaned children for instance. The more populated, wealthier villages did not have as much of a problem with the street-dwelling kids as the smaller, lesser-known towns. There were no government-funded orphanages or foster systems in these smaller villages. Instead, the unfortunate children wandered the streets, desperate for shelter or locating their next meal.

Many died within the first few months of homelessness, but some of the stronger, smarter, and slightly older ones-through some twist of fate-lasted for years.

It wasn't pleasant walking down the street and seeing tiny forms huddled together in corners and alleyways, not knowing whether or not they were sleeping or simply dead. But it was the reality of it all in a post-war world.

Not everyone was better off. Only the more fortunate ones.

Finishing his meal, Sasuke decided to spend the rest of his day somewhere else, where he wouldn't be burdened by the sight of scraggly orphaned children.

Midday finally passing, the sun had begun it's decent down toward the west, edging toward the tops of the trees, shade threatening to spills it's darkness over the entirely of the small town.

Walking back to his apartment took only 15 minutes.

"Ahh there you are!" an old, shaky voice called from a window. Looking up, Sasuke took note of the old woman grinning down at him from the second-story. "Stay right there, I have something for you."

Halting his steps, he silently waited for the woman to make her way to him. After a full minute, she'd finally made the trek down a single flight of stairs, opening the door to her tiny shop. "Come here, come here!" she beckoned, waving her hand toward him.

He turned toward her and slowly approached the doorway, not being shocked when she grabbed him roughly by the sleeve and pulled him after her. Her steps were short and uneven, but she walked quickly, pulling him past the few aisles of various knick-knacks and trinkets.

He was used to this. This old woman calling for him and talking at him and giving him things and meals and all sorts of things. It had been weird at first, and had even made him uncomfortable at times, but he soon grew accustomed to the woman.

Kato Nori was a woman who'd lived through more wars than most people who were still alive. Sasuke was unsure of her exact age, but he knew she was _at least _90 years old.

When he'd first arrived in the tiny village almost two years ago, within 24 hours of his arrival he'd already been approached by the woman. She'd been sitting in a chair outside her shop, watching the passersby, as if looking for something. Sasuke had paused and taken a knee, not far from her front door, to rearrange something in his pack. After standing back up he was almost surprised to see the woman wobbling over towards him. His initial reaction was to ignore her and continue on his way, but once he'd begun to walk away, she'd yelled out to him.

"Now wait just one second!"

Hesitating, Sasuke stopped, waiting for the woman to reach him. As she halted before him, looking up at his face-her head hardly came up to his chest-she stared at him for a long moment, as if looking for something in his features.

"Come with me," she instructed plainly, turning to walk back towards her shop. As she walked, she immediately noticed his lack of movement. "Are you hard of hearing?" she asked, frowning at him, "Come here boy."

He still did not move.

Making a disapproving clicking noise with her tongue, she walked up to him and grabbed his sleeve, "Now don't be dumb now. You can speak can't you?" He scowled in response. "You're new here. Now don't try telling me you have a place to stay. There aren't no inns in this here town. Follow me." Tugging his sleeve, not even waiting for a response, she all but pulled him after her, towards her shop.

Sasuke figured she must have been delusional to pick a stranger up off the street and pull them into her home, but she did just that. Months later, he finally asked why she'd trusted him to live in the vacant floor above hers, without knowing a single thing about him, she'd laughed in his face.

"When you've been around for as long as I have," she said knowingly, "you know how to tell if someone has good intentions or bad."

She never did exaggerate on that, but he never asked her to, so it was a moot point. He just accepted her words and moved on.

As she pulled him up the stairs and towards the door to her floor, she looked up over her shoulder and gave him a big toothless grin. "I found something I thought you'd like!"

Finally releasing his sleeve she walked into her apartment and grabbed something on the table by the door. Handing him the black cloth bag, she waited for him to open it.

Raising an eyebrow at her and then at the bag, he opened it and pulled out a thin, short knife, sheathed in an intricate black and gold casing.

"I saw it at Tsuko's shop this morning and I thought you'd like it."

Unsheathing it, he examined the blade, noting the design etched right into the sharpened metal.

"You can add it to your little collection you got," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "All those ninja toys and such."

Sheathing the knife, he placed it back in the bag and pulled the drawstring closed. "Thank you," he said finally.

Grinning widely, she let out a cackling laugh, "I knew you'd like it! Oh! And before I forget," she turned and walked toward her kitchen, and out of his sight, before returning with a covered container. Handing it to him, Sasuke took note of its warmth. "It's a three-day weekend for me starting tomorrow. So I'm leaving in the morning and I'll be back by noon or so on Tuesday."

Sasuke could smell the fresh food beneath his hands and nodded toward her. He'd tried to refuse her food once before, and only once.

He didn't want to have to hear her ranting and raving about 'ungrateful young brats' ever again.

"There's more where that came from in the freezer downstairs. All you need to do is heat it up and you're good to go! Don't forget to feed the cats. Once in the morning and once at night." She stretched her short body, wrinkled hands high above her head, "Now out you go; I have to catch some sleep so I can be up before the sun."

And with no more left to the conversation, she ushered him out the door and closed it behind him. Sasuke took a moment to look at the container and the bag he now held in his hands.

He hardly ever spoke to the woman. He may have said a total of 200 words to her in the entire two years he'd lived on the floor above her. But she was always extremely hospitable and always giving him things. In return they had this unspoken agreement that he would help keep her ridiculous amount of cats alive during her weekend absences when she traveled to nearby cities, looking for treasures and toys to bring back for her shop.

He figured it was the least he could do to show his gratitude for her hospitality.

Turning toward the stairs he made his trek up to his floor. Opening the door he set his meal down in the tiny kitchen area and the knife down on the counter.

The apartment was quite tiny, but Sasuke did not mind. He didn't require a lot of space anyway. There was a small kitchen and living area, separated by a single counter. A single couch, side table, and bookshelf were all that was in the space opposite to the kitchen, and across from the couch was a door that led to a small bedroom. Next to that door was another that led to a small bathroom.

The place was small, but Sasuke was more than content with the surroundings.

Looking out the only window in the apartment, he looked out at the street and at the setting sun in the distance. Taking note of the dark incoming clouds, he decided to spend the rest of his day indoors. And as the distant sound of thunder reached his ears, he decided that reading a book would be a better idea than going out for a late-night run.

As he sat down on the couch with a book he'd read twice before, he decided that when it came to birthdays, this had been a halfway decent one.

No complaints here.

* * *

The sound of a crash outside the front door of the shop is what riled Sasuke out of his sleep the following morning. Throwing off the covers and rolling out of bed with a yawn and a stretch, Sasuke grabbed a shirt before walking out into the living area. Approaching the window and looking down toward the street, he took note of the overturned trashcan, spilling damp garbage across the front step.

Rain steadily fell, the sky overcast and gray. Sasuke was tempted to leave the trash where it lay, but he knew that with the rain, it would just make a disgusting mess even worse. And smellier.

Throwing on his shirt he slowly made his way downstairs. Walking through the shop and approaching the front door, he saw something flash by the window.

Opening the door to the front step, he was met by a small body with a mess of long, dark hair. The child was hunched over the over-turned trash can, picking around its wet contents, assumedly looking for food.

It appeared as though the child hadn't taken note of his presence, but when he sighed and took a step towards the overturned can, the child let out a quiet yelp as it stumbled and fell on its backside in the mud.

As it looked up at him with dark eyes, he recognized the terrified stare as the little girl from the bar the day before. She scooted back slightly, dragging her backside in the mud, her small hands sinking into the soft ground as she moved herself away from him.

Ignoring the child as best as he could, he grimaced as he picked up the larger pieces of garbage and threw them back into the bin, which he had turned right-side-up. When he looked back down at the little girl, she panicked at his gaze and scrambled to her feet as she sprinted across the road and into an alley across from the entrance to Nori's shop.

There weren't many street children in this town anymore. Most of them had died in the streets, due to exposure or starvation, or even a mixture of the two. So seeing another orphan wandering in the rain wasn't a common sight anymore, and it wasn't welcome either.

Sighing he turned back into the shop, dragging the can with him. He'd place it by the door until the rain stopped, and bring it back out the following morning. Maybe the child would leave to some other part of town by then and dig in someone else's trash.

The rest of the day was spent with Sasuke feeding the cats when the appropriate times came, and finishing the book he'd started the night before. Upon nightfall when the rain began to subside, he decided he'd pay the forest a visit the following morning, when the ground was dry and the sky was clear again. He needed to get out and stretch his legs.

And maybe even test out the knife Nori had given him.

When daybreak finally arrived, and when the first signs of the sun were beginning to shine through the trees, Sasuke pulled on a few pieces of gear, including a couple kunai knives and some shuriken, and made his way toward the door.

Upon opening the door, he pulled the trash with him, setting the can on the now-dry dirt in front of the door, and as the door closed shut, he immediately took off toward the woods, moving too fast for anyone who was currently awake to follow.

Another thing he liked about this village was the abundance of free space. And that free space came in the form of an extensive forest, miles long in almost every direction.

Pushing his legs harder and carrying his weight faster, he traveled through the treetops with incredible speed, allowing the cool morning air to awaken his senses and rejuvenate his mind.

He spent the morning with some simple target practice and even practicing a couple of jutsu.

Sasuke didn't train to improve his skills or to get stronger anymore. His past need for power and strength had dissipated with the ending of the war. Now, being out in the forest with his weapons and gear was something that was almost therapeutic to him. It was something he knew, something he was familiar with, and something he was good at.

Something Nori had told him once as he woke to travel around in the forest at daybreak, "Once a ninja, always a ninja." She'd winked and opened the door for him, and he was gone in the blink of an eye.

They'd never once discussed Sasuke's past and he had never even insinuated that he'd been a ninja, but the old woman was sharp and never missed a beat. He could have asked her how she'd known, but again, he was never one to initiate conversation.

So he never found out how.

Throwing a kunai knife and watching it embed itself into a low-hanging branch of a tree, he was shocked when he heard a shrill scream and saw a small body fall from the tree to the ground.

In a split second he was at the base of the tree, reaching up to yank the knife out of the bark while simultaneously peering around the trunk of the tree, to locate the source of the noise.

And yet again, a dark, timid set of eyes stared back at him in terror. The mouth of the small street child—the one he'd encountered twice before—was hung open in a shocked 'o' as the child looked up at him, cradling her bloody, scraped elbow with her hand.

Sasuke had taken half a step toward the child when she screamed at him.

"STAY BACK!"

He was almost taken aback by the sheer power and force the small child exerted with her shout. Watching curiously, he witnessed her reach around to her backpack and quickly retrieve a kunai knife, much like his own, only slightly smaller in size. She held the weapon up in front of her, with shaky arms.

"P-please don't k-kill me," she pleaded in a quiet voice. And as if a trigger had been pulled, the child immediately began to sob.

There were few things in the world that Uchiha Sasuke was not equipped to deal with, and crying children was one of them.

Placing his kunai back in his pack, he showed her his empty hands, trying to see if that would stop the insufferable screeching from bellowing out of the little girl's body.

The crying did quiet, but it did not cease. Her short arms did not lower her kunai. And she never took her eyes off of Sasuke's face.

"Please don't," she whispered, "I'll answer any questions you ask me just," she chocked back a sob, "please don't hurt me."

Confused and slightly dumbfounded, Sasuke raised an eyebrow as well as his hands before him.

"I'm not going to kill you," he said plainly.

The child kept her knife pointed at him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sasuke did _not _feel like dealing with this today. Slightly annoyed, he crossed his arms and watched as the child wiped at her face with a dirty palm, smearing mud across her face.

"How do I know that you're not just lying!" She shocked him by snapping at him. Her fear dissipating as she yelled.

Trying to keep his patience, he reached into his pack and pulled out the knife Nori had given him. For the first time, the child took her eyes off his face, but only to stare with terrified eyes at the knife.

Slowly, trying not to startle the noisy child any further, he held the knife, sheath and all, toward her, handle first. The child stared at it for a full minute before taking a cautious hand and reaching out for it. The moment her hand touched the handle she yanked the knife from its sheath, scooted back a little bit and pointed it at him.

She studied him for a long moment before finally relaxing slightly. She did not lower either of the weapons she bore, but she did straighten her posture and calm her crying.

"So you're not going to hurt me?"

"What makes you think I'd do that?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"'Cause lots of people try to," she said matter-of-factly.

He raised an eyebrow, "And why's that?"

She quickly closed her mouth and winced slightly. "I'm not supposed to talk about it."

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he observed the child once more. She had a dark shirt on, matched with shorts of the same color. Her sandals were worn and covered thickly with mud. The main thing that stood out to him was the bag she was carrying around. Not many street children actually had belongings they carried with them.

The realization hit him in an instant.

She child wasn't an orphaned street kid. She was a refugee. Running from something. Or someone, who was trying to hurt-or even kill-her.

The girl placed her kunai in her bag with a shaky arm and offered Sasuke his knife back. Brushing her long, tangled hair out of her face she stood up and waited for him to take it.

Sheathing the knife, Sasuke continued to study the child. Travelling alone at such a young age?

"Where are your parents?"

No reply.

He frowned. "Where are you from?"

She pursed her lips and looked up to him almost guiltily. He let out a tired breath. He really _really_ didn't feel like dealing with this today.

Placing his knife back in his pack, he turned and began walking towards the village. He didn't want to busy himself with a child's problems-or even with a child in general.

After a few minutes of traveling, he noted that the child was following him. Trying to ignore her, he figured that she'd stop following him once they reached the village. But as the minutes passed and the closer they got to the village, the closer the child shuffled towards him. Even as they crossed into the clearing at the end of the village, the child stayed close behind him, following his every step. He was only a block from his apartment when he turned to face her.

She stopped just as suddenly as he had and looked up at him nervously, her hands grasping at the hem of her shirt. Neither said a word for a long moment, remaining focused on one another while people walked through the roads, not paying either of them any attention.

When the child said nothing, he turned to walk to the front steps of the shop when she scurried up behind him once more.

"I'm 7."

Glancing over his shoulder at the tiny girl behind him, he raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"I'm 7 years old," she mumbled quietly. "I think I'm allowed to tell you that."

"Why are you telling me at all?"

She seemed embarrassed and looked at her feet as she picked at her shirt's hem further. "You don't know who I am." Sasuke gave her a blank look that basically said '_So__?_'. "So that's means I can trust you."

If he were the type of person who was inclined to enjoy ironic jokes, he would've laughed at the statement. This child had a very misguided sense of who to trust and who not to trust.

"How do you know I won't kill you?" he asked bluntly, waiting for a reaction.

She flinched slightly at the statement, but recovered surprisingly quickly. "But you said you won't so I can trust you."

"What do you want?"

"Uh, I…" she mumbled quietly to herself. So quiet that Sasuke couldn't make out her words. So instead of asking her to repeat herself, she waited for her to do it on her own. "I'm a little hungry."

Taking note of her sunken cheekbones, and scraggly arms and legs, he realized that she probably wasn't too many days away from starvation.

He wanted more than anything to be able to walk away and close the door in this child's face, forgetting about the screeching tears and the idiotic declarations of trust. But as he glanced down at her face, he almost saw himself in the child. Alone, scared, and without any sort of family.

When he turned and walked toward the door, he could almost feel the child's face falling into a frown, but as he opened the door and turned toward the child, her face lit up with surprise quickly followed by a bright grin.

As the child scrambled towards him, she stepped through the door and immediately removed her muddy shoes. Looking around to find a place to put them, she looked up at him for help. Without answering her unspoken question he began to walk into the shop and toward the stairs behind the counter. After they passed Nori's floor, he glanced over his shoulder quickly to watch the girl tip-toe behind him up the stairs, her shoes in her hands. A small trail of dirt falling behind her.

He sighed as they reached his floor.

He knew he was going to regret this.


	3. Chapter 3

Not wanting her to dirty up his apartment, he'd made her leave her shoes outside his door. She now stood on dirty, small feet in the middle of the tiled floor of the tiny kitchen as Sasuke dug through his cupboards. Pulling out a box of unopened crackers, he looked from the box, to the girl, and back again.

Kids liked crackers, right?

Handing her the box, watching as she gripped it with shaky fingers, he walked out of the kitchen and toward his bedroom. Grabbing a few items he walked back out and opened the bathroom door, readying himself to take a shower and wash away the morning's dirt and sweat, he glanced back into the kitchen to see the child sitting cross-legged on the ground, eating cracker after cracker straight out of the box.

He figured after it was fed and not filthy, he'd be able to get it where it needed to go.

There was no way he was having a kid stick around in his apartment.

He made his shower quick, not fully trusting the scraggly child to be alone out in his kitchen. As he imagined cupboard drawers open and food strewn about the kitchen, he quickly stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and got dressed.

Opening the door and walking out toward the main area he slowly approached the kitchen. The now-empty box lay abandoned in the middle of the floor. She was now standing on the tips of her toes, peeking through a cupboard, but he noted she did not take any more food.

Watching for a few more seconds as she opened another cupboard and scanned it he decided to make his presence known and walked into the kitchen with purposefully heavy steps.

Jumping in shock, the girl jumped back from the cupboard, letting the wooden doors fall shut with a quick _snap_. "I was just looking for a glass," she said quietly, "I'm sorry," she spoke, her lip beginning to tremble, and her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

Great.

More tears.

Ignoring the child's imminent crying he walked towards his cupboards and pulled a cup off of a high shelf. Filling it with water he handed it to her. She took it in her grasp just as her tears had begun to fall, but upon sight of the water she rubbed the tears off her face and smiled up at him with a teary grin. "Thank you!"

He stared at the child for a second longer and then left the kitchen, retreating to his bedroom once more. Closing the door he sat on his bed and ran his hand down his face. What was he doing?

A part of his head justified his actions with the fact that life had grown boring in this desolate town, might as well do something a little different. He'd been contemplating over the course of the past few weeks whether or not it was time to move on from this town. Although every time he genuinely gave it a thought, he realized the pros of sticking around heavily outweighed the cons.

It had taken him years to find a place to stay; he didn't want to push his luck by abandoning his adopted home in search of something potentially 'better'.

He'd let the child stay until Nori returned, then he'd pass the child off to her. She was more equipped to deal with children than he was. And she'd probably be better off helping the child get to where she needed to go. He didn't want the thing around for too long.

Realizing he also didn't want it to turn his apartment into a huge mess, he grabbed a towel and walked back out into the kitchen. The child was filling up the glass with his faucet and turning around, with the glass already tilted up and the water already being gulped down hungrily, she looked at him through the glass as she drank.

When she finished the glass, almost impressively quick, she made a satisfied 'ah' sound, before placing the glass on the counter and grinning up at him.

"What's your name?" she asked him, a pensive look on her tiny face.

Ignoring her question, he handed her the towel. "The bathroom's that way." He nodded toward the opened door across the room.

"That's a funny name," she giggled at her own joke, before _skipping_ past him and into the bathroom, closing the door.

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

No. There was no way he was equipped to deal with this.

Suddenly the door opened once more-only a crack-and a tiny arm held out a small fist full of crumpled dirty clothes.

"What?" he stared at the small, dirty arm.

"They're dirty!"

"So?" he crossed his arms, not moving from his spot in the kitchen.

"I can't put dirty clothes back on!" She spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

No, this was definitely not another street kid.

Street kids were nowhere near as high maintenance as this child was. They'd be happy with just a set of clothes with only a few holes in it. This child was expecting him to wash her clothes?

"Do you want me to just put them down?" she said unsure, lowering the clothes towards the floor just outside the bathroom door. Not wanting his apartment to be dirtied any further by the filthy child, he strode towards the door and grabbed the tiny garments out of her hand.

Just as he took hold of them, she quickly closed the door, "Thank you!" she called in a sing-song voice. He waited until he heard the shower turn on before looking down at the filthy clothes he held.

He was annoyed at the child's expectations of him. He was not about to do a dirty child's laundry.

Walking into the kitchen he retrieved a bucket from underneath the sink. Filling it with water and placing it on the kitchen floor, he placed the clothes inside allowing the water to swallow them whole.

This was as much as he was doing. She could wash her own clothes when she was out of the bathroom. Kids that age knew how to clean their own belongings, didn't they?

Sasuke had to learn at that age, so why couldn't this child? He had to learn out of necessity and so would she.

Walking out of the kitchen and over to the couch he took a seat and sighed, leaning his head back against the wall behind him. He'd been planning on staying in the forest for a few hours longer, but now his little interruption—which was now currently bathing only a few meters away—had thwarted those previous plans.

He supposed he could read some more or even write for a little bit. He didn't find himself particularly good at writing, but much like throwing kunai knives and shuriken at targets, it was oddly therapeutic. It had helped to calm him multiple times over the years, and even helped him to try to regain control over his life and to bring back the person he used to be.

The person he was back before his bloodlust consumed him.

He was different. Different from when he lived in Konoha all those years back, but also different from when he travelled the countries as a rouge ninja, searching for nothing but revenge, strength, and power.

At times he didn't know if he thought the improvements he was making were even that: improvements. He still found himself fighting sickening urges, thinking selfish, awful thoughts, and even wondering if he'd been better off being executed back at the end of the war.

That's what a majority of the Great Nations had called for originally. He had been declared a missing-nin, he was a murderer, and he'd betrayed his village and all those who'd inhabited it. There'd been a bounty on his head larger than anyone could even fathom, and he soon learned that the name of Uchiha sent cries of fear out of the mouths and shivers of terror down the spines of all who lived through the war. The worst part of that was the sickening joy he found in that with one glance of his sharingan, people would know that he would kill them if they got in their way, and due to this he was avoided and feared by many.

Yes, he would have been killed soon after the war's end, if it hadn't been for Uzumaki Naruto.

Towards the end of the war, Sasuke—and his remaining teammates Suigetsu and Juugo—decided to team up with the allied shinobi. Upon arrival at one of the main bases, they were attacked immediately, but after some interference from a few old faces he hadn't seen in a while—mainly Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, and Naruto himself—the ninja had backed off, although extremely reluctantly. They were immediately taken into temporary custody.

Word was immediately sent to the Kage that he'd arrived on the base, claiming alliance to the other shinobi in order to fight the war. He was almost scheduled for execution that very night; he'd been on the verge of escaping his custody—regardless of who he would have to kill to get out—when he realized the extent of the influence that Naruto had on many of the Nations' leaders.

He'd asked for them to postpone any sort of trial and to hold off on taking any form of action against the rouge Uchiha since he was offering his assistance toward the war effort. He'd insisted that Sasuke's help was vital in ensuring their victory in the war and that with him, their chances of victory would increase exponentially.

"Without you on their side," Naruto had explained to him in the privacy of his tent the next morning, "it puts them at more of a disadvantage."

"I was never on their '_side_'," Sasuke had countered angrily.

"As far as most of the Kage are concerned, that's not the case. Look," Naruto had sighed and taken a seat next to Sasuke on his cot, "I'm trying my hardest here to make sure they don't kill you—you of all people should know that's not an easy fucking task to achieve at this point!" He threw his arms up, exasperated. Sasuke said nothing. "I used the whole 'Team 7' card you know?" he said, turning to him and smiling with that old, dumb grin that Sasuke had seen so often as a child. "I insisted that with a week's worth of practice and training, you, Sakura, and I would be readjusted to one another again and we'd be able to fight as a team flawlessly. That's one of the things that got the Hokage and the Mizukage on our side at least."

"And the rest?" Sasuke asked in a monotone voice, eyebrow raised.

"Well," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "the Raikage still wants you dead—sorry," he shot Sasuke a sympathetic grin, "but the Tsuchikage seems a little on the fence, which isn't _totally_ bad!"

"And the Kazakage?"

"Gaara actually didn't say anything," he admitted. "To be honest I think he wants to talk to you himself."

Sasuke lowered his head in exhaustion and groaned; the last time he'd seen the ex-jinchuuriki, he'd tried to kill him. Now that he really thought about it, the same thing went for Sakura as well.

"What about Sakura…" he didn't know how to phrase his question, but knowing he'd have to work alongside her, after attempting to kill her only months prior, made him a bit uneasy. If she wouldn't be willing to work with him, it would exponentially harm his chances of escaping execution.

Though, she'd tried killing him that day too, so maybe she'd have no problem with his death at the Great Nations' hands…

"I don't know," Naruto said reluctantly, "I'll have to talk to her. She'd due in later today."

"I won't get my hopes up," Sasuke deadpanned.

"She still loves you," Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"She's an idiot then."

Naruto laughed lightly in reply, shaking his head. "I've missed you, Sasuke."

He did not reply. Instead he kept his gaze focused on the entrance of the tent, watching through the opening as ninja from all different nations walked about, preparing themselves for battle.

As he observed them, he vaguely wondered how many of them would die on the battlefield. Some said that it was an honorable death for a shinobi, but Sasuke knew all too well how that was simply another thing that the older ninja would tell the younger generation, so that they wouldn't fear their likely death of a kunai to the throat or a blade through the heart, amidst a battle.

"Try and have a little hope, eh?" Naruto said as he stood and walked toward the tent's only entrance and exit. "Things are going to be alright."

* * *

Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of a door opening brought Sasuke out of his thoughts. Lifting his head towards the door he saw a small face with a head of wet hair peek around to glance at him. "Where are my clothes?"

He pointed toward the kitchen and to where the bucket currently lay. The girl looked at the bucket, to him, and back again.

"Are they clean?"

"No."

She frowned, "Why not?"

"You can do it yourself."

Scowling, she closed the door again—a little roughly. "Close your eyes!" she called. Sasuke could hear the frustration in her small voice.

"Why?"

"I need to get them and wash them since you won't freaking do it!" she yelled back.

"Then get them."

"I'm in a towel and you're not allowed to look! That's what perverts do!"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and he had to resist the urge to kick the child out of his apartment at that moment, but after he took a deep breath and calmed himself down, he sighed and did as the child requested. Lifting up an arm he lazily covered his eyes with his left hand. "Fine."

Moments later, he heard a door open and could only picture the child peeking around at him again, to check to see if he was lying or not. And soon after, the quiet sound of bare feet running across the kitchen tile made Sasuke aware of her location. He could then hear the tell-tale sign of her struggling to life the heavy bucket of water.

"Adults are supposed to do laundry and stuff," he heard her mutter to herself as she took heavy, uneven steps back toward the bathroom. "Kids aren't supposed to do this. Everyone knows that."

"You're old enough."

"I'm 7!" she yelled back.

"Old enough," he repeated, eyes still covered, head still leaning back against the wall.

She let out a final grunt of frustration before he heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and the sound of the door closing once more. "You can open your eyes now!" she called a few seconds later. Although Sasuke had already set his hand back down the moment the door had reclosed.

For a moment he was glad that he didn't—and would never—have any children. He'd probably end up giving it away to the first little old lady he found.

Looking out the window and at the mid-day sun, he wished for the weekend to come to a close, and for Nori to hurry up and return. He had something... well, some_one_ to give her.

"How old are you?" The child was currently sitting on the floor directly before him, knees crossed, hands in her lap. Sasuke peered at the child over his book for a moment, before returning his attention back to the carefully typed pages.

After showering and washing her clothes—"As best as I could!" she'd insisted—she'd occupied herself with exploring the main area of his apartment, which wasn't much to explore to begin with. There were very few things that would hold a child's interest for more than a minute, and after looking at each and every book on the large shelf (that she could reach), she'd resolved to simply sitting quietly.

Well, quietly until now.

Although he had to give the child a little bit of credit. She'd been quiet for a few hours. The sun had set a little under an hour before, and she'd been completely content with sitting in front of him and watching him read for the time being. She'd gotten up once or twice to get another glass of water or to use the bathroom, but that had been it.

When she'd originally sat on the floor, with her still-wet pants, he'd grimaced and left to fetch another towel to put underneath the damp child. She'd insisted that she was all clean so "it was okay", but he threw the towel at her anyway and stood before her, waiting for her to fold it and sit on it, and only moving after she did so.

"Mister?" she said, trying to get his attention, "What's your name?"

"You don't need to know."

She frowned, her features contorting into something Sasuke could only refer to as a pout. "Why not?"

"You just don't."

"But you're letting me stay here. So you should let me know your name so I can thank you properly and stuff!" she said, trying to support her question as best as she could.

"It's Sasuke."

"Sasuke what?"

"You don't need to know."

She frowned, but Sasuke was nowhere near about to let the Uchiha surname slip through his lips. He hadn't spoken it in years, and he didn't want to start again now.

"Well thank you very much Sasuke-san!" She paused for a couple minutes before speaking once more, "I guess that means I can tell you my first name, too. I mean, I think I can do that?" she said, almost asking herself a question more than stating anything. "But I'm Katahana! You can call me Hana though. That's what Uncle calls me!"

Sasuke resumed ignoring the child as she spoke, only paying attention to her name. Katahana. He'd have to make sure to remember that in case the child decided to be secretive again and not answer even his simplest questions. The child must've been so starved for attention and conversation, she seemed eager to talk now.

Pausing in his reading, he realized that might finally work to his advantage.

"So where did you say you're from again?"

"I'm from—" she immediately stopped herself. "I, um, I'm sorry Sasuke-san but I'm really really really not supposed to talk about that!"

"Why's that?"

"My Mom told me that it was dangerous."

"Dangerous?" she little girl nodded, a scared look in her eyes once more. "Someone's after you then."

She bit her lip and shrugged, "I guess so…" she spoke in a small voice. Sasuke could hear the sadness in her voice and he couldn't help his curiosity.

"What happened to your parents Katahana?"

Her eyes began to water as she spoke, "I got separated from my mother a couple weeks ago." Tears began to silently make their way down her cheeks. "I don't know what happened to her. We were walking to Sunagakure and a group of people just attacked us." She let out a quiet sob, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "She told me to run and I didn't want to but I had to!" She kept crying. "She told me they'd kill me if I didn't, and that she'd be alright and come find me. But she hasn't come yet."

A wave of hysteria encompassed Katahana as she buried her head into her knees, trying to drown out the sound of her cries. "I don't want her to be dead," she cried.

Sasuke wanted the child to stop crying, but he didn't want to lie to her and tell her that her mother was probably completely alright. From hearing what she was saying, the likelihood of the woman being dead was pretty overwhelming. But there was no way in hell he was going to say that to the sobbing 7 year old before him.

"Why are people after you two?"

She took a minute to try and calm down, then after lifting her head back up to make eye contact with Sasuke she responded with a shaky voice. "It's just me they want. And I don't really know why, but Mom says it's because I have something that they want." She wiped a tear-streaked face on her arm, "We've been travelling for a few months now to different villages. But," she held back another sob, "I just want to go home!"

Sasuke closed his book and set it down beside him as he studied the child, who was currently working to contain her hysteria and keep her sobbing at bay. "Where is home Katahana?" he asked, his eyes narrowed at her.

She shook her head tiredly before lowering it back down to her knees. "I'm not allowed to say that," she mumbled, "I'm sorry," she said, her voice hitching at the end.

Sasuke did not ask any further questions for the duration of the evening. He'd stood up and allowed the child to cry for a little longer, while he went and dug around his refrigerator. Heating up leftovers he made two plates—something he'd never done the entire time he'd lived here—and after setting the plates on the table he walked over to the child and looked down on her. She still sat with her head down and her arms wrapped around her legs. Not knowing what to do, he nudged her gently with his foot.

Looking up at him with reddened, tired eyes, she yawned and stood up, wordlessly following him into the kitchen.

The two ate in silence. After the meal Sasuke grabbed the only spare blanket he kept around and handed it to the child, whose eyelids appeared to be getting heavier and heavier by the minute. He then led her to the couch, where she immediately curled up and closed her eyes. She was asleep in minutes.

Laying down to sleep that night, Sasuke's last thoughts centered around little Katahana and her mother, and couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on in the child's life that was causing all their turmoil.

He justified these thoughts by telling himself that the only reason he was interested was because it had been so long since something interesting had happened in his life.

Closing his eyes to allow sleep to overcome him, he had to admit…

It had been quite a while since he'd been on an adventure.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Sasuke did not respond, nor did he even turn his head to acknowledge the person who spoke to him. Instead he lay on his cot, arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling of the tent.

"_Sasuke_," the voice growled angrily. Almost warning him: _don't ignore me_.

"I'm here to fight."

"You're always fighting. Whose side are you playing on now?"

"Your guys' side, obviously."

"No, it's not obvious, _Sasuke_," the person snapped, "so don't act like it should be so easy to tell where your allegiance lies. Until an hour ago you were an enemy of the allied forces, and now you want to team up with us?"

Sasuke chose to ignore them, and continued on staring at the ceiling, although there really was nothing worth staring it. Regardless, it was better than having to face the angry ninja who stood mere feet away.

"You better start giving me some damn answers, Sasuke!"

"I don't need to do anything."

"No! Not this again," the voice warned, "you don't have a say in that anymore. When you're asked something, you're expected to answer it. So if I want to know why you're here, you better tell me!"

"Or what?"

"If you refuse to cooperate, then you'll be deemed a threat to the allied forces and not only will you be imprisoned indefinitely, you'll be executed before this war even ends!"

He frowned, "Who says I'm being uncooperative?" he said scathingly, "I've been telling everything that needs to be told to Naruto. I don't need to be talking to every damn person who walks in here," he said, his voice beginning to rise out of frustration.

"Naruto is not the only one who needs to know these things, but I do too!"

Sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge, he stood and faced his opponent, glare etched on his face. "I don't owe you anything," he said, his voice low and deadly.

"Like hell you don't!" Frustration getting the better of her, the ninja stormed up to him, refusing to break eye contact.

"Sakura…" he warned, staring down at her. Outside he could hear slight shuffling.

"What? You want to try and kill me again? Drive your chidori through my chest?" she laughed mockingly, "You'd be dead before you got the chance."

Peering around her and through the small entry into the tent, he spotted two familiar faces. His Team 7 replacement, Sai, and the Inuzuka, Kiba, who stood with his dog, glaring into the tent at the pair. Sasuke couldn't tell whether the growling was from the boy or his mutt. The two were both poised to attack at the slightest provocation.

The arrogant side of Sasuke knew that these two posed no threat to him, and he'd be able to defeat them both easily, but his more rational side tried to ignore them and focus on the furious kunoichi who stood before him.

"You want to try and stab me with a poison kunai again?" he finally countered, resuming their eye contact.

"To be honest? Yeah, I really _really _do right now." Sasuke could see in her eyes that she was not bluffing. His scowl deepened. He wasn't used to seeing this look on Sakura's face. It was a look of pure anger. Of _hatred_. "But I promised Naruto I wouldn't," she said, as if trying to make a joke at his expense. As if the only thing keeping her from trying to kill him was Naruto. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes, but he kept them focused on hers.

"_She still loves you…_"

Naruto's words echoed in his head, and he knew that although those words had been true for years, there was no way this woman, with her glare holding strong, and her hands itching to beat him into the ground, held any sort of love for him.

"I'm here to fight alongside you guys. My reasons are my own. But they need to be stopped. You guys won't be able to do it without me. And I won't be able to do it without you," he admitted, not breaking eye contact as he spoke to her in a low and serious tone.

"And after the war? What then? You go back to trying to destroy Konoha? You try killing your friends again?" she asked taking another step closer to him, still seething with anger.

"I have no plans for after the war right now," he said honestly, staring down at her. He could feel her hot, angry breath against the base of his throat. "Right now, my only plans are fighting this war, and trying not to die."

Sakura studied his face for a long moment, as if looking for sincerity, or maybe even a sign of the boy she had been teammates with all those years before. "You won't return."

She was not asking him. It was as if she knew. It wasn't a question worth asking; she seemed to have come to the terms that he would never be returning to Konoha, and that everything she and Naruto had fought for over these years had all been in vain.

"I won't," he confirmed. She seemed to study his face for a moment longer before quickly turning around and storming out of the tent. She returned seconds later, glare still on her features.

"Inoichi is going to examine you later," she informed him, "so we'll know you aren't just trying to deceive us. Then after that the Kazekage and the Hokage will be here to speak with you. After that, they'll meet back with the rest of the Kage to make their final decision." She grinned sarcastically. "If they decide not to kill you and to let you fight, then tomorrow morning, you, Naruto, and I begin training."

Sasuke said nothing further to the kunoichi, but watched as she stormed out once more and left his sight. Not long after, Sai and Kiba left as well, but not before receiving more glares from the Inuzuka.

Lying back down on his cot, he willed himself to calm down so he'd be able to think clearly. _One down_, he thought humorlessly. He tried to tell himself that his reunion with Sakura had gone better than it could've, and that he should try to remember where his priorities lay.

So if, in order to win this war, he needed to cooperate with the pink-haired girl and the idiotic blonde, he'd have to do it. Regardless of how much he didn't want to.

And he really, really didn't want to.

Within the hour the Yamanaka had paid him a visit, along with two nameless shinobi who stood by quietly. He'd placed a hand on Sasuke's head and kept it there for a good twenty minutes. After digging through his subconscious and memories, something that Sasuke found extremely intrusive and equally infuriating, the man dropped his hand from Sasuke's head and opened his eyes, which immediately found Sasuke's.

The man gave him a sad, yet strangely warm smile, before announcing to the other two that he was finished and quickly turned and left.

The smile had made him uncomfortable at first, but if that was a sign that things might work in Sasuke's favor, he'd have to wait by and do as Naruto said; be hopeful.

With nothing more to do, he lay down on his cot once more and allowed himself to sleep for a little. A couple hours after, the sound of people entering his tent roused him from his sleep and—as a reflex—he quickly shot on his feet and took on a defensive position, hands habitually reaching for his sword, which he'd momentarily forgotten had been taken from him upon his entrance to the base.

Standing before him was the Hokage he knew as Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin, and by her side, the Kazakage, Gaara of the Sand. His sand was already prepared to restrain him, especially at the sight of Sasuke's reaction to their entrance. But as Sasuke relaxed his stance, the sand fell motionless.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the young Kazakage spoke quietly, "It's quite a surprise to see you here."

"I'm here to help," he said flatly. "I'm sure you're _both_ aware of that by now." He put no effort toward being polite. He was going to tell them what they needed to know, and answer their questions, but he would not give them the respect their titles demanded. They'd have to earn his respect.

"We're fully aware," Tsunade spoke, glaring much like her student had hours prior, "that's why everyone in this entire damn base is on edge." At the sight of Sasuke's slight smirk, her glare intensified, "And I'll have you know that unless we get undeniable proof that you're here with nothing but good intentions, then you will not live to see the next sunrise. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Sasuke deadpanned, smirk now gone from his face.

"Inoichi Yamanaka spoke with us about his findings, and so far things look promising." Gaara folded his arms and leaned back as he spoke calmly and confidently. "He'll be reporting them at the meeting tonight."

"When will I know whether or not I die?" Sasuke asked, "Because to be perfectly honest that's really the only thing I care about right now." Self-preservation. It was the most important rule Sasuke lived by. Rule number one.

"You'll find out as soon as the meeting is done. There will be a small, quick trial beforehand where a few certain people will be there to speak on your behalf," the Sand-nin replied, not fazed by Sasuke's lack of emotion in the least.

Sasuke looked at the pair with scrutinizing eyes, "Why should I trust anyone besides myself to speak on my behalf? It seems a little ridiculous."

"You should be grateful, Uchiha," Tsunade spat, glare still ever-present, "Naruto and Sakura have been working incredibly hard all day to get as many people in support of you joining with our forces as possible. After this is done, you'll owe them your life." She paused. "That is," she turned away and began to exit, "if you have a life to owe after this night is done." And with her final statement, she left the tent, leaving the Uchiha alone with the Kazekage.

"She is right," the quiet man said after a while. "You have much to be thankful for right now. They've pulled together a small, but impressive amount of people to speak on your behalf tonight."

"If she's supposedly on my side," Sasuke said, still watching the doorway that Tsunade had exited out of, "then I'll be dead in no time."

"She hates you," Gaara stated, earning a frustrated sigh from Sasuke. "But that is only due to the fact you have caused the two she holds dearest incredible amounts of pain," he explained. Sasuke looked at him with confused eyes, hardly comprehending what he was saying. "She loves Naruto and Sakura as if they were her own family. And for anyone to cause them any type of harm, it is impossibly difficult to sit by and watch it happen. She will do what she thinks is best for those two."

And Gaara too, turned his body slightly toward the door, preparing an exit of his own.

"You must never underestimate the love a mother has for her children."

And with a few short strides, he took his own exit as well.

It wasn't until almost 4 in the morning when a group of people walked into his tent. Sasuke would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a _little_ bit anxious about this stupid meeting. And upon the arrival of the various ninja, Sasuke readied himself. In a matter of minutes he'd either lie back down to sleep, or he'd escape by any means necessary.

He'd recognized the Yamanaka man from earlier, as well as Sai and even Hyuuga Neji, who he also hadn't seen since he was a child. An older man with spiky hair and highly noticeable facial scarring, who Sasuke could only assume was Nara Shikamaru's father, stood behind the small collection of ninja. Naruto was there, along with his old sensei, Hatake Kakashi. The older man looked upon his former student with a look of disappointment and sadness. It was Kakashi's gaze alone which almost caused Sasuke to lash out and begin the fight for his life, but when Naruto caught him off guard with a hug, all of Sasuke's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

"You're all clear, Sasuke," he said as he squeezed the Uchiha tight in his grip. He released him before Sasuke could properly react, and when he did he sported the biggest grin he'd worn in years. The insult that was on the tip of his tongue was only held back by the tears he saw in the corners of Naruto's eyes.

Suddenly he wanted to yell at Naruto. To scream at him and demand to know _why_. Why couldn't he have let Sasuke leave? Why did he have to pursue him and try time and time again to bring him back to Konoha? Why did he insist on keeping their bond with one another?

Why did he care so damn much?

But instead, Sasuke said nothing. He only listened as Naruto said a few encouraging things and Kakashi gave him some quick and simple instructions and laid down a few rules.

He was to be accompanied by at least two other shinobi at all times unless he was in the presence of one of the Kage, Naruto, Kakashi, or Sakura. Those cases were the exceptions. He was also only allowed weapons during training sessions and he was banned from having any contact with his two missing-nin teammates. Although he'd learned that Suigetsu and Juugo were being held at opposite sides of the base and would not be harmed as long as they gave their own cooperation.

After he absorbed every bit of information he could, and after being trapped in one last hug from Naruto, Sasuke laid back down on his cot in a haze to try and get some sleep that he knew wouldn't come that night.

He was now an official member of the allied shinobi forces. He sighed in relief as he let all the tension seep out of his body. Everything would be over soon. There'd be peace eventually.

He'd be free soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

Awakening to the loud and abrupt sound of clattering metal was never a sound that Uchiha Sasuke wanted to wake up to. But here he found himself jumping out of bed in the blink of an eye and searching with glaring eyes for the source of the noise.

And sure enough, right before his dresser stood little Katahana, eyes wide like she'd been caught with her fingers in the cookie jar. Although it wasn't a cookie jar she was caught digging through, but Sasuke's drawer full of ninja gear.

On the floor lay a couple of shiruken and in her hand was the knife he'd let her hold in the forest the day before.

"What are you doing?" he asked, glaring tiredly at the child.

"I'm—I'm sorry!" she quickly gathered all the weapons and placed them back in the drawer before closing it slowly and carefully. Then without another look at Sasuke she turned and scurried out of his bedroom.

Looking out the window and at the rising sun, Sasuke ran his hands through his messy hair and yawned.

So much for sleeping in today.

Walking out into the main area after throwing on some clothes, he found the Katahana sitting on the couch, wrapped in the blanket, starting at him worriedly from beneath its covers. Ignoring her he made his way into the kitchen but paused when he took in the sight before him. Empty boxes and containers of food lay strewn about the counters. Crumbs and pieces of dropped food lay in piles on the floor. And a puddle of water—which he'd stumbled upon, literally, in his first few steps into the kitchen—lay at his feet.

Trying to hold his temper as well as his tongue, he slowly backed out of the kitchen and approached the couch. The girl had now covered her face in the blanket completely from sight, shrinking back into the cushions as far as she could go.

"Katahana."

"Yes?" she squeaked, her voice muffled by the fabric.

"You made a mess." He received no reply from the bundle on his couch. "Are you going to clean it up?"

Finally peeking her head out, she nodded fervently, looking up at him with scared, anxious eyes. "I will I will I promise I will! I'm sorry I just got so hungry and I was going to wait until you woke up but you were taking so _long_ and I'm so sorry I couldn't help myself! Please don't kick me back out on the street! Please," her eyes started to gloss with tears about to be shed, "please I'm sorry!"

Of course, more tears. Closing his eyes he pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to count to ten before speaking.

"You're going to clean the kitchen. And we're going to go buy more food to replace all the food that you…" he looked back toward the kitchen, "made a huge mess with. And then I'm going to eat. And you're going to behave."

Showing more of her head from her blanket she nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I'll behave I promise!" Throwing the blanket off completely, she jumped down and eagerly ran toward the kitchen. "I know where all the cleaning stuff is too! I found it when I was exploring," she said knowingly.

Exploring? That's what she called it?

_Nori,_ Sasuke thought as he felt a headache coming on, _you better hurry up and get back here._

"You never did tell me how old you are," Katahana pointed out, as the two walked down the street. They were currently making their way toward the far, busier side of town, where the merchants were.

Instead of replying, Sasuke approached a small shop and entered through the door. Katahana followed through, the bells attached to the top of the door ringing as they entered, announcing their arrival. Looking around the little girl took note of the various aisles and shelves full of various clothes.

"Pick out some clothing."

She looked up at him with shocked eyes, "Really?"

"Unless you want to keep wearing that for another couple weeks."

Skipping off in a random direction, she called 'thank you' over her shoulder and disappeared behind rows of clothing. She returned to him not long after, with a small dark blue pair of shorts and an equally small white t-shirt. Holding them up to him, she looked up at him with an apprehensive glance.

"Is that all?" he asked, studying the single set of clothing.

"Should… I get more?" she asked unsure. When he shrugged, she eagerly thrusted the clothing into his arms, and skipped away once more.

The next time she returned, which was a couple minutes later, she held up another shirt in one hand, this one red, and in her other she held a small dark gray jacket. "Is this okay?"

He nodded once as he grabbed the other clothes from her and approached the counter at the end of the store where a young woman stood waiting.

"Hi there!" she said in an overly-enthusiastic voice. "What can I do for ya?" she said, leaning over the counter towards him, looking him up and down.

Instead of replying, Sasuke handed over the tiny garments and said nothing to the woman. As she looked at the clothes and added up his total with her old bulky register, she raised an eyebrow toward him. "You got kids?" she asked. Katahana's head peered around Sasuke, looking up at the woman with curious eyes. "Oh look at you!" she cooed exaggeratedly, leaning down towards the child. "What's your name?"

"Katahana," she mumbled shyly, hiding behind Sasuke once more.

"Aw ain't she cute?" she said, looking back up to Sasuke, "I love kids! So sweet I tell ya," she said, shaking her head as she placed the clothes in a bag and handed it to him. "You should definitely stop by more often here, honey," she said with a wink. Sasuke placed money down on the counter between them before grabbing the bag.

And without saying a single word to the woman, Sasuke turned and left with his purchases, little Katahana following very closely behind. As they exited the shop, Sasuke handed the bag to the child to carry. "These are yours."

"Thank you," she said grabbing it with both hands, grinning up at him brightly. "That lady was weird," she said after they began walking again. "She was talking to you like you were a puppy."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the observation. It was a pretty good comparison—funny really.

"She must really like dogs a lot," she child pondered as she followed Sasuke farther down the streets. "But I think she should save the puppy talk for the puppies," she giggled, "she sounded kind of silly."

Katahana talked to herself mostly for the rest of the afternoon, as they went from shop to shop, picking up food and various supplies. Sasuke found himself quite unbothered by her constant babbling, to his surprise. Even with his complete lack of response she still kept herself occupied with their surroundings and with whatever direction her train of thought seemed to travel in. He was paying attention though, waiting to see if she'd slip up and talk about who she was, or where she was from, or even what she was running from.

But even as they arrived back at his apartment, he'd been presented with no new information on the girl.

Later on, as the sun set and Sasuke sat once more at his small table, Katahana directly across from him, he remained quiet, only listening to what the child had to say at the moment. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the child's company at least a tiny bit nice. It had been years since he'd had any sort of companion he'd travelled or done things with. Even with Nori, he never really _did things_ with her. Hell, he rarely ever saw her except for when he was going up to his apartment or leaving it.

Being Monday currently, she'd return the following day from her weekend travelling, either late in the morning or just around noon-time. When she arrived back, Sasuke would bring the child down to her and hope that Nori would take over. Yes, it was a little nice to have some companionship, but this child had a place to be, and a family to return to.

"You don't like to talk do you?" she asked him, picking up a noodle off her plate with her fingers and dropping it into her open mouth. "Why's that?"

"It's not necessary," he said curtly.

"Can I ask you some things?" she asked, her legs swinging back and forth from where she sat on her chair.

"That depends on what the questions are."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Really?" she said thoughtfully, "you seem older than that." He ignored her statement. "My Mom is too!" she said proudly. "My birthday is actually two days before hers," she giggled. "She says I'm her best birthday present she's ever gotten!" She paused, and suddenly got quiet.

After a full minute of silence, Sasuke looked over at her, taking note of her face scrunched up in frustration, thinking hard over something. But instead of asking her what was wrong, he waited.

"What day is it?" she asked quietly after a few moments.

"The 26th of July."

"Oh." She said nothing for a long moment, looking at her almost-bare plate uninterestedly. "Okay." She then hopped down off of the chair and brought her plate into the kitchen, dumping the rest of the pasta in the bin before placing the plate by the sink. She then quietly made her way into the living room, where she sat on the couch and pulled the light blanket around herself.

Not knowing how to handle her sudden change in temperament, Sasuke took his time finishing his meal before cleaning up the kitchen and walking into the living room, picking up a new book and taking a seat at the far end of the couch.

They sat in silence for almost an hour, before Sasuke started to grow uncomfortable with the silence. The only time the child was quiet for this long was when she was sleeping. Sighing, he placed the book in his lap and turned to her, "Katahana."

Slowly she lifted her head up off the arm of the couch and looked at him with sad, dark eyes; her waist-long hair falling messily over her shoulders. "Yeah?"

"You're being quiet."

She sat up a little straighter and turned toward him a bit more, but her expression was still dejected. "Thinking about my mother just makes me sad."

"You miss her."

She nodded, her upper lip trembling. Sasuke could see her fighting back tears and waited for a response from the small, shaking child. "I just want her to be okay."

"Why were you travelling to Sunagakure?"

"Gaara-san was offering Mom and I help since we were running out of options."

The name of the Sand-nin immediately heightened Sasuke's curiosity tenfold. "_'Gaara-san_'?" he asked, studying her face. "I didn't know you were on a first-name basis with the Kazekage."

"I—uh," she buried her face in her hands, "I wasn't supposed to say that," she groaned noisily, pressing her face into the couch cushion beneath her, letting out a muffled shriek of frustration.

"Are you originally from Sunagakure?"

"I really don't think I should say anything else Sasuke-san," she mumbled into the cushion. "I don't want to get into any trouble."

Instead of pressing the child for more information, Sasuke held his tongue and refrained from asking any further questions, instead choosing to read more of his book. But after another hour passed and the child was still being completely silent, he placed his book down once more.

Katahana was currently lying on the couch, facing the wall and staring blankly. Her tiny fingers played with the long strands of her hair, braiding and unbraiding it, over and over again.

Standing up to leave and visit Nori's to feed her feline army, he was struck with an idea. "Katahana," he said toward her, with his hand on his front door. "Come here."

Sitting up she looked at him, letting the blanket, and her hair, fall to the side. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously, as she walked toward him.

And like Sasuke always did, he ignored her question and began walking through the door and down the hall. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Katahana pause. "You don't need your shoes," he informed her, walking toward the stairs and beginning his decent. "We aren't leaving the building."

With a confused look, she scurried up to him and followed him closely down the stairs, and when they stopped at a door she'd never seen before, she looked up at him worriedly. "What are we doing?"

Opening the door, Sasuke could immediately hear the mewing of cats and kittens alike. At the sound, Katahana's jaw dropped as he looked around him and into the apartment. "Whose cats are those?"

"Kato Nori's. You'll meet her tomorrow. Until then," he stepped through the door and after a few strides, he was in the center of the kitchen, "you can help me."

"Help you do what?" she said uneasily, walking through the door and closing it slowly behind her with nervous fingers.

Sasuke turned to her, handing her a bag of cat food. Katahana took the bag in her arms, and looked up at him with wide, excited eyes. "I get to feed them?"

He nodded, "But not too much. There are little bowls in every room. All you need to do is fill the red ones with food and the blue ones with water."

"Can I play with them after I'm done?" she asked eagerly, almost squealing in delight when a brown cat rubbed up against her leg, purring.

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'll give you twenty minutes."

"How about a half an hour?" she bargained, her eyes wide and pleading. She jutted out her lower lip in a pathetic pout as she bounced in place.

"Fine. I'll be back then."

"Awesome! Thank you so much Sasuke-san! I'll feed them and behave, trust me!"

With a single nod of acknowledgement, Sasuke made a hasty retreat out of the cat-infested apartment. He figured with Katahana feeding and playing with them—which was, in turn, brightening her mood—and with him simply _not_ having to be in that apartment, it was a win-win situation.

Making his way down to the shop, he walked out to the street and pulled the trash bin inside. Closing and relocking the door behind him he began to make his way back toward the back of the store when something stopped him in his tracks; literally.

As soon as he found himself unable to move his body, his senses were immediately on high alert. He couldn't even move his head a single inch to either side. He was hopelessly immobile, frozen in place. Activating his sharingan he glared into the darkness waiting for his opponent to show their face. He was only seconds away from activating his mangekyou sharingan so he'd have the amaterasu at his use, when someone's voice stopped him.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke."


	6. Chapter 6

Glaring at the approaching form, Sasuke relaxed slightly, but kept his sharingan activated and ready.

"Is this really necessary, Shikamaru?" he asked bluntly, glaring angrily at the man who now stood before him.

Nara Shikamaru did not smile or ask Sasuke how he was doing, something which the Uchiha had always sort of liked about the man. He didn't bother with pointless pleasantries or verbal nonsense. Although he was annoyed when Shikamaru did not release his jutsu or allow Sasuke to have control of his body once more.

He'd never been caught in this jutsu, but it was just as frustrating as he'd imagined it to be. He was completely helpless in this position, giving him an anxious, almost panicked feeling.

"Sorry," Shikamaru said unapologetically. "It's just a precaution."

"Who's with you?" Sasuke asked, eyes trying to search the room as best as he could with the limited field of vision he now had.

"I'm alone, don't worry."

"Then what do you want?"

"I'm only here to talk."

"I'm not big on talking," Sasuke said, deactivating his sharingan and narrowing his eyes.

"I have a few questions, and then I'll be gone. Trust me."

"I'm not answering a damn thing unless you let go of me, Nara."

Shikamaru shrugged, "Fine." Releasing his jutsu he shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at Sasuke, as if studying him.

Finally regaining control over his body, Sasuke straightened himself up and folded his arms across his chest. He hadn't been contacted by anyone from Konoha since he was 20. It had been years since he'd seen a single familiar face from his ninja days, and to see an old comrade after so long was intensely strange to him.

"Now, what do you want?"

"A few of my teammates and I are currently on a mission."

"And this mission has to do with me?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Not exactly. We're just looking for someone." Sasuke replied with a raised eyebrow and a curious look. "When's the last time you saw Sakura?"

The question hit him like a kunai to the chest. He hadn't heard that name spoken in what felt like a lifetime. Thinking back he grew quiet, almost forgetting the presence of the Leaf-nin before him.

"Well?"

Sasuke lifted his head and made eye contact with him, "I haven't seen her since the end of the war. It's been over 8 years."

Shikamaru studied Sasuke for another moment, possibly trying to decipher whether or not he was speaking the truth, but after a couple minutes he nodded once. "I figured as much."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I'm trying to cover all my bases here," he explained. "She's been missing for about a month now. She was travelling between countries on a classified mission when she was ambushed. She hasn't reported in at any of our checkpoints in over three weeks."

"What was her mission?"

"I'm not under any circumstances to discuss that with you," he said lazily, cracking his neck. "All I can let you know is that she was carrying precious cargo; something that cannot, under _any_ circumstances, fall into the wrong hands. But it doesn't really matter now. What matters is that she's M.I.A. and it's extremely important that we locate her immediately."

"So what? Are you asking for my help?"

Shikamaru let out a short laugh, "No. Like I said, I'm just covering all my bases, I'm trying to get myself and my team around to as many small villages as possible. We're trying to collect information at the moment. And I figured I'd try paying you a little visit. Y'know, see if you'd seen her by any chance."

"If you think I killed her then you can go ahead and just leave," Sasuke said with his eyes narrowed. He didn't want to hear anything else his ex-comrade had to say. He began walking towards the back of the store, passing Shikamaru as he walked toward the staircase.

"I told you that's not why I'm here," he raised his voice impatiently, causing Sasuke to halt his motions. "We're getting pretty desperate at this point. The Hokage is making this mission a priority. Locating her—_alive_—is of the utmost importance at the moment," Shikamaru said, growing annoyed by Sasuke's attitude. "I just wanted to tell you that if you happen _by any chance_ to see her, you need to alert us immediately by any way you can."

Turning towards the Nara, he nodded once. "How did you find me?" he asked, his curiosity finally making an appearance.

"It took a while." Shikamaru shrugged. "To be honest I was just running out of places to look."

"Hm." Sasuke nodded. "So where are you off to now?"

The man sighed, "I don't know. Whichever obscure village I happen to stumble across next."

Sasuke nodded one last time before turning around and walking again towards the staircase. "Send my regards to the Hokage," he called over his shoulder sarcastically.

Shikamaru let out a light laugh. "I'll tell Naruto you said 'hi'."

Reaching the stairway he turned once more and gave his old friend one last serious look. "Shikamaru. Good luck." And with a final nod in reply, he turned and made his way up the stairs

Unsettled by the sudden appearance of an old friend from his Konoha days, instead of immediately returning to his apartment, Sasuke grabbed Katahana from Nori's apartment, despite her cries that she still had ten more minutes to spend with the cats, and from there went to his apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. Katahana had quickly gotten over her abrupt departure from the feline-frenzied apartment and was now going on about how much she liked cats.

"There's this little brown one who's so little but _so_ cute! I don't know if he's a kitten though or just a small adult-cat. But the funny thing is that one of his paws is orange!" she continued to rave about her new animal friend as Sasuke only half-listened. "When I meet Nori I want to ask her what his name is!"

Sasuke made himself comfortable standing by his window, looking out into the night, and at the moon shining dimly in the distance. Past the miles and miles of trees, was an entire squad of ninja with their single mission to find his old teammate.

Leaning his head against the window he let out a breath of air, watching as the heat of his breath fogged up the window. He closed his eyes, tuning out the child's continuous chatter, and allowed himself to think of times he wouldn't usually allow his mind to wander to.

* * *

The food they served on the base was in no way at all anything that Sasuke would've paid for if he'd received it at any restaurant or store, but it was free, and it was all there was to eat, so he kept his complaints to himself. For the most part.

Besides, there were plenty of other things he could've complained about. Mainly his complete lack of privacy he'd been immediately encountered upon official entry into the allied forces. Currently two shinobi, whose names he hadn't cared to learn, sat on either side of him as Sasuke ate his lunch.

He thought it was ridiculous that he was to be monitored around the clock by ninjas who wouldn't even be able to fight him off even if he _were_ to try and kill them. And so far during his stay he hadn't even been tempted to. So as far as he was concerned, this precaution was unnecessary and only another added annoyance to his regular schedule.

And so far, there had been an overabundance of annoyances.

It was day five of his training with his former Team 7 teammates and as far as his actual training was concerned, things were actually not going bad. He'd found that Naruto had been right; it hadn't been long before they'd begun to pick up on each other's techniques and become readjusted to each other's fighting styles and manners of attack.

He actually found that he preferred working himself to the point of exhaustion on the nearby training grounds much more than he did lying in his tent on his cot. Although being with his two team members did not give him any opportunity for rest—or for any privacy either—he preferred it immensely compared to being followed by two random ninja.

So when Sakura joined him at the table he was currently sitting at, he was relieved when she smiled at the two ninja and they, in turn, nodded toward her and left. Sasuke almost wanted to thank her for ridding them from her side, but knew that it wouldn't benefit him in the least.

Out of all the ninja of Konoha he's encountered here at the base, Sakura was the only one who refused to speak to him about anything other than training. No pleasantries, no small-talk, and no pointless attempts at conversation.

Normally, Sasuke would be more than pleased with that situation, but since it was _Sakura_ acting like this toward him, it made him feel a bit uncomfortable. She seemed strangely distant from him, which was a far cry from the constant attention and conversation she used to try and engage him in.

"Instead of meeting twice tomorrow for training, since Naruto is travelling with Kakashi-sensei for the next few days, we'll only be meeting in the mornings for training, not in the evenings."

"So we're cutting down on our training?" he raised an eyebrow. "At this point that seems a little counter-productive."

Sakura shot him an annoyed glance, "Well since Naruto won't be here, we won't be able to go over half the techniques anyways, so there's really no use in wasting our evenings. Besides," she crossed her arms and lifted her head, "I have other duties to attend to besides training with you two, and with Tsunade and most of the other Kage gone back to their villages for the moment, I'm in charge of a few things around here."

"So what am I supposed to do?" he asked flatly. "Just sit around and be followed by these worthless ninja all day?"

"Don't be an ass," Sakura glared. "And if you're looking for something to do, I can put you to work instead."

Sasuke did not reply. Instead he met her glare with one of his own as he weighed the pros and cons of staying by her side outside of the training grounds. Glancing around her, and at the two ninja who'd been assigned to him for the day—who were currently eating their own meals, taking a break from monitoring him—he repressed a sigh and nodded.

"Alright, fine." He scowled. "Anything to stop being followed around."

"Good. Then after lunch tomorrow I'll stop by your tent." Sakura stood, bringing her tray of food with her. "I have quite a bit of work you can help me with," she said with a mischievous grin.

As she walked away, and as the two ninja took note of her departure and rejoined him at his table, he wanted to regret his decision, but after looking at the two lazy ninja sitting on his sides, he realized that he had less of a chance of going insane following Sakura around then he would being followed against his will.

Although of course, he knew that even the lesser of two evils was still pretty damn evil.

* * *

**A/N: **Let me know what you think about everything.

For those of you who are wondering about Katahana, just stay tuned. More and more things will be explained with the next few chapters. Your patience will soon be rewarded.

Also, if you would be so kind as to recommend any good fics to me, that would be wonderfully appreciated. Preferably anything NaruHina or SasuSaku. I'm in a mini-competition with my boyfriend to see who can find the best one, and I'm determined to win this stupid thing. Ah, love.

Thanks for the support.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by the little girl by his side, looking up at him with a worried look on her face. "Is everything okay?" she asked in a small voice.

Looking at her and then back out the window, he nodded once.

"But you've been standing there for almost an hour."

"Everything is alright, Katahana." Looking at the clock on the far wall, he noted how late it was. "Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

"Okay," she said uneasily before walking over to the couch and picking up the blanket, after settling herself she looked over at Sasuke. "Are you going to go to sleep too?" she asked.

Sasuke walked across the room and flipped the light switch, allowing the room to become enveloped in darkness. The only light now shining dimly through the window. "I will later. Go to sleep."

The child was asleep within minutes. Sasuke looked at her tiny form from where he stood by the window; the even rise and fall of her chest, her hands no longer gripping the blanket, but instead laying before her, palms slightly opened.

In record time this night had turned from a relatively quiet and enjoyable night into a stressful situation where Sasuke was being forced to think about his past. Before he'd run off to live in solitude, he'd somehow managed to convince himself that in due time he'd forget all about Konoha and those he knew from the days where'd he'd lived there as a citizen. But now he knew that he would never be rid of the memories he held and the bonds he'd created, and he'd never be free of those he was once close with.

Sitting down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall with the window on his left, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, willing himself to regain control over his thoughts and emotions. Sighing, he stood and shook his head, as if he'd be able to shake his old teammate from his thoughts. Upon entrance into his room, he allowed himself to collapse on his bed, exhausted in more than one way.

* * *

He didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but the piercing scream of the child who inhabited the couch just one room over immediately roused him from his sleep. Throwing his door open, he stood in shock for a split-second as he took note of the two dark figures in his apartment.

Katahana was in the corner of the room, her blanket held in front of her as if to provide her with protection, and her face contorted in a terrifying look, eyes wide and mouth open wide as the screaming poured out.

At the sound of his door slamming open, the two figures turned toward him, reflexively searching for the source of the noise. Before they could even form words through their shocked expressions, Sasuke had already shot at them.

He first lunged toward the person who stood closest to Katahana, grabbing him by the upper arm with one hand, and using his other to grab the man's opposing arm and twist it behind his back. Not even a second had passed and the first intruder already lay on his back letting out a pain-filled groan due to the excruciating feeling of his arm being snapped in two places. Turning to the man's partner, Sasuke glared with red eyes at him before kicking the first man towards him.

"You—you're an Uchiha!" The second man said, pointing a shaky finger up at Sasuke, the sight of the sharingan immobilizing him with fear.

He didn't even see it coming when Sasuke shot forward and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the far wall. Katahana's screams had now transformed into hysterical sobs, urging on Sasuke's fury that much more.

"Who are you?" he demanded. When the man merely flinched back Sasuke tightened his grip. "Tell me before I snap your neck."

"I'm—We're no one," he choked out in a raspy voice. "We were hired to get her," he gasped, trying to take in as much air as he could, "We weren't going to harm her!" Sasuke growled, pulling the man back and slamming him back against the wall, the entire room shaking in result. "Honest!" he said, pleadingly. "If we were to harm her, we'd be killed," he began gasping more desperately, clawing helplessly at Sasuke's grip.

"He's telling the truth," the first main managed to groan out as he rolled onto his chest, his arm laying crookedly on the floor at his side. "We—we didn't even know another was still alive—"

Glass shattering caused Sasuke to throw the man to the ground and turn toward the now-smashed window. Standing on the windowsill and leaning into the room was a man clad in black with a dark green mask covering all except his eyes.

Terrified, Katahana let out another cry, trying desperately to back as far away from the newest intruder as possible, who now stood only feet from her.

Sasuke glared at the masked man, and shot a quick glance toward Katahana. He needed to get to her as quickly as possible, before this man did. As quickly as he was able to, he was suddenly in between the two, managing to cover the distance in a blink of an eye. Katahana screamed once more, reaching out for Sasuke as he appeared standing directly in front of her, shielding her with his body.

But when Sasuke saw the man pull out a handful of senbon, he was shocked when his attacks were directed toward the first two intruders. After landing all of the needles in vital points, the two men lay completely limp on the floor of Sasuke's apartment; their groans and their desperate moves to get away, suddenly halted for good.

The man then turned toward Sasuke, meeting his eyes for a quick second. Then, as soon as he'd appeared, he'd disappeared just as quickly.

Sasuke could've sworn he'd seen the man smile in delight behind his mask the way his eyes crinkled and his cheeks lifted. Out of habit he made a move to immediately follow the man, but as Katahana began screaming once more, he stopped abruptly, and turned his attention towards her once more.

"Please don't go!" she begged, her arms stretched out toward him, her eyes filled with tears, her cheeks stained with them. "Please don't leave me!"

Stepping towards her slowly, he tentatively held out an arm, which she eagerly grabbed hold of and used to help her on her feet. Once standing she dove into his chest, clinging to him with tiny fists and crying into his shirt. Out of something that seemed much like an instinct, Sasuke slowly wrapped his arms around the girl, lifting her up with him as he straightened himself once more. His sharingan deactivated once more.

Cautiously, he walked back over toward the window, looking out into the cool, dark night. Everything was silent and still, making everything appear to be that much more eerie. Katahana held on to him desperately, still sobbing against him. Upon seeing no further trace of the green-masked man, Sasuke tightened his grip on her, holding her against him, and backed away from the window.

Then, turning, he took note of the two bodies that lay limply on the floor of his apartment. He strode briskly into his bedroom, leaving the scene behind him, and leaned down over his bed, trying to place the child on it.

"No!" She screeched, only holding onto him tighter. "Please don't leave me here!"

"Katahana," he said in a low voice, "I'm going to put you down but I'm not going to leave you, alright?" She shook her head against his chest, her grip not loosening. "I promise."

"More are going to come," she cried, lifting her head up and looking at him with puffy eyes, "and they're just going to keep trying to get me. I don't want them to take me!" She wailed loudly, her tears never ceasing their decent down her round, flushed cheeks.

The cries of the child in his arms filling his ears he turned toward the doorway, noting the shattered glass and the one body he could still see from his room. These ninja had entered his home, broken his property, and managed to turn a bubbly 7-year old girl into a hysterical wreck.

He hadn't wanted to get involved in this child's dilemma, but now, he was as involved as she was. Her situation hadn't been any of his business before, but now, he needed to know what he'd be going up against.

"Katahana, I promise that I will protect you," he vowed, lowering his head to speak to her, hoping for her to lift her own so she'd look him in the eye. "But if I'm going to help you, you need to answer some of my questions."

Still crying, although much less severe than before, Katahana nodded and slowly—as well as reluctantly—released her grip on Sasuke. He set her down on the bed and let her cover herself in some of his blankets.

"Now I'm going to be right back," he said standing up. Before she could cry out to him and beg him to stay he held up a hand, silencing her. "I'll be in the other room for one minute. Max. You can even count to 60 if you'd like to."

"Just one minute?" she asked, her voice still shaky.

"You can start counting now," he said as he turned and walked back out into the main area.

And in under 60 seconds he'd managed to cover the bodies up and move them behind the couch, where they'd remain until he'd find the adequate time to dispose of their bodies. Also, he'd grabbed a few containers of food, walking back into his bedroom just as Katahana was finishing her countdown.

Digging through his closet next, he pulled out a dark bag and began filling it. He placed the food at the bottom, as well as a small amount of clothing. Then, walking toward his dresser he opened it and began emptying it of its contents.

His old ninja gear spilled out on the floor in front of him, weapons clattering against one another. Picking them up quickly he neatly placed most of them in the bag, and a few of him he kept strapped to his own body, so he'd be able to draw them when he needed to.

"What are you doing?" the child asked, finally appearing to have calmed down enough to form coherent thoughts.

"We have to leave."

"But, where are we going to go?"

"Don't worry about that. You let me handle that, alright?"

"But I need to find my mom, I can't just go wandering away somewhere—"

"I'll help you find her."

Her eyes widened, "You… will?"

"I told you I'd protect you. Do you believe me?" She did not hesitate when she nodded multiple times, never once looking away from him, granting him her full attention. "Katahana, I _need_ you to start answering my questions. I know you said that you're not allowed to. But if I don't know what I'm protecting you from, and if I don't know where to take you to keep you safe, then it's going to be a lot more difficult for me to protect you. Do you understand?"

She did not reply for a moment, but eventually nodded her head once confirming that she understood.

"Good. Now first, after we get completely ready, we leave at sunrise."

Nodding again, she wiped the rest of her tears from her face and scooted closer to him so that she was sitting on the edge of the bed facing him. Sasuke quickly finished packing what little supplies he knew to take when travelling unknown distances, and after leaving the room once more and returning with Katahana's small pack, he placed it beside his own and closed the door to the bedroom.

"Now," Sasuke began as he sat beside her on the bed, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Konoha," she spoke quietly, her hands gripping the blanket beneath her tightly.

His eyes widened, looking at the girl, stunned. "Who is after you?"

"Mom didn't tell me much. My uncle said it was because she didn't want me to worry. But he always said she worried about things too much on her own anyways, so telling me wouldn't change anything. But there's someone who wants me because apparently I have something that people want."

"What do you have?"

"I don't even know!" she said frustrated, slamming her hands down on the bed on either side of her. "No one would tell me but they would insist that I was special and needed to be protected from this one bad guy. He has a whole bunch of people that work for him and whoever gets me will get _a lot_ of money. So a lot of people keep trying."

"When did this all first start happening?"

"The first time someone tried taking me was about six months ago. No one had ever done it before but all of a sudden everyone wanted to steal me away from my mother and Konoha." Her eyes began to water again but she blinked the tears away and tried to maintain a tough look. "They kept attacking the village so we left on April 8th and we've been travelling ever since."

"If we were to go to Konoha, would you stay there?"

Katahana's tiny eyes widened as she turned to look at him, "Not unless Mom was there with me, safe!" She said urgently, "I can't go home without her!"

Sasuke did not reply to her outburst. Returning to the Hidden Leaf was the only way to help ensure her safety. And even if they were to only stay for a little while, at least he'd be able to get more information on who is after her and why.

"Try and get some sleep," he said quietly, "the sun will rise in a few hours and we'll be travelling all day tomorrow. You'll need your rest."

"We're not going back to Konoha are we?"

"We're going where you'll be safe," he responded. Katahana frowned but pulled Sasuke's blankets tighter around her and curled up in a ball in the center of the bed.

Exiting the room, he closed the door behind him and looked at the bodies hidden partially at the back of the room. Now would be a perfect opportunity to dispose of the bodies in one of the surrounding forests nearby. But, not knowing whether or not any ninja waited in the dark for the first opportunity to strike and take Katahana, he decided that it would have to wait. He'd get them out of here eventually.

While he waited for the sun's arrival, he tidied up a little bit more, cleaning up any remaining pieces of glass off the floor. As the first sign of the sky lightening reached his eyes, Sasuke knew that it was finally time.

After over 10 years of being absent, Uchiha Sasuke would finally return to the Hidden Leaf.

* * *

**A/N**: I wasn't going to originally post this until next week, but with the most recent Naruto chapter, I figured it was cause for a little celebration. For those of you who read it, I'd love to hear your reactions, thoughts, or predictions! All I can say (without spoiling anything, of course) is that it's left me with a huge smile on my face all week long.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed; the reviews really mean a lot to me. It's great to see everyone's thoughts on it. Not to mention they're great motivators. Special thanks to 'Gambit Hawk', who was so kind as to recommend a wonderful SasuSaku fanfic to me. I finished it in two nights; it was really a fantastic story. For those interested, I'll put a link to it on my page, since it's not on FF. I very highly recommend it!

But if any of you have any more SasuSaku _or_ NaruHina fic recommendations, I'm all ears!

Thanks again for the support everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun had hardly begun to shine when Sasuke and Katahana were already awake and ready to travel. The child had her new jacket zipped up, with her backpack packed and on tightly. Sasuke insisted she have ready access to some of her weapons, so strapped to her left thigh was a now pocket that held a kunai and a couple shiruken. Sasuke threw on a dark cloak, lifting its hood so his features were obscured, and strapping his own bag to his back.

"How long can you run for?"

"Uh, a pretty long time I think? Mom and I once crossed the gap between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightening in only a day," she said proudly. "I'm not too fast, but I can run for a while!"

"Have you had any training at all?"

"A little bit. My uncle trains me when I stay over his house, so I know how to use my kunai pretty well."

"You must follow my lead and stay as close to me as possible, if you need to stop for any reason, alert me immediately. Understood?" She shook her head in confirmation. "We can make it in two days if we only stop to eat twice and to sleep once."

"Okay," Katahana said nervously, gripping the straps of her bag tightly.

"Remember what I said." He gave her a pointed look, trying to remind her that he would protect her. It was the mission he'd given himself. And he would not fail.

Making their way down the stairs and out the front door of the shop quickly, they took off immediately for the forest to the East of them.

Next stop. Konoha.

* * *

Barely managing to move out of the way of his kunai, Sakura let out a frustrated grunt as she landed on all fours on the dirty ground below her.

"Damnit Sasuke! I swear sometimes I think you're trying to kill me for real," she threw him a glare, staring up at him through her messy bangs. He shrugged, spinning a pair of shuriken on two of his fingers, smirking to himself.

"The more realistic the setting and the circumstances are, then the more effective the training is."

"Yeah, well I'd rather not have to use all my chakra healing my own damn stab wounds instead of using it to train."

"It's not my fault you're slow."

"Yeah but it'll be your fault when I have to explain to Tsunade why I was too chakra depleted to do any of my side work this week."

"I still don't see how that's my problem."

"It's your problem, _because_ it's my problem," she said dusting off her clothes and quickly healing her bleeding, scraped legs. "If I get in trouble, don't think you'll get off too easy."

It was their fourth day of training together, with only the two of them. Sasuke had thought that maybe Sakura would warm up to him again and start acting more like the old kunoichi he'd remembered from his childhood. But as the days went on and the training sessions grew more intense, the likelihood of that happening decreased more and more.

Her personality was a bit more abrasive, her wit was quicker, and he had to admit—she was a hell of a lot stronger. Overall, she was much more difficult to handle than her previous self.

"I'm done for the day," she said frustrated, as she walked past Sasuke and over to her bag. Taking a bottle of water out of it and slinging the bag on her shoulder, out of habit, she waited for Sasuke to follow. And as he fell in step beside her they made their way back to the base in a short amount of time, each of them arguing and making rude remarks to the other the entire way.

"Using the mangekyou is a _terrible_ idea," she said, almost shocked that he'd propose to train with it in the first place.

"It's effective and it's powerful."

"And it's way too dangerous to use in a training session. No."

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do with my sharingan?" he asked sharply, turning to glare at her.

"I've done my research Sasuke," she said, countering his frustration with some of her own. "I know that the more you use it, the worse your vision gets. And if you go blind before we step foot on the battlefield, then what good will that do us?"

"Don't act as if you know everything, Sakura," he said in a low voice. "My vision is fine. I could use the mangekyou everyday for the next month and my vision would not be negatively affected."

"The last time we saw each other, back when you killed Danzo," Sasuke remained motionless as she spoke of the memory, "your sight was already wavering." She said knowingly, not speaking of the _other_ event that'd happened on that day.

They'd now made it back to the base and were currently heading towards the main medical tent, where Sakura did most of her work. "These eyes are not entirely my own," he admitted quietly, after a couple minutes of silence.

"I'm not sure I'm following," Sakura said, looking at him nervously.

He did not speak again until they were in the corner of the Medic tent where Sakura's makeshift desk was located. She sat behind the desk and he pulled up a nearby crate and leaned back against it, sitting on the floor. "After that day, I had Itachi's eyes implanted."

Sakura dropped the file she'd just picked up, spilling its content all over the floor, papers falling everywhere. Trying to mask her shock, she leaned down and began collecting them once more. Sasuke leaned forward as well, assisting her. As she stood once more, he handed her the stack of papers he collected wordlessly, making eye contact with her as she thanked him quietly.

"My vision doesn't get affected by _any_ of the visual jutsu I perform with my sharingan. My vision is in no danger," he explained to her quietly. "_Eternal_ mangekyou sharingan. That's what it's called."

Sakura hadn't heard Sasuke mention anything concerning his older brother since his death. And now that he'd brought him up on his own, Sakura looked bewildered.

Sasuke watched as her expression changed from confusion, to worry, and then ultimately, to sadness. "I heard a little bit about what happened from Naruto," she said quietly.

Sasuke didn't want to hear anything she had to say, and shot her a warning look. He'd storm out, accompanied by ninja or not, he didn't care. But he was not about to listen to another person try and pity him. His brother was dead, and that was that.

"About the truth," she clarified. "About Itachi."

Sasuke was taken aback, not realizing that there were people out there that _knew_. That knew about the injustices and the cruelties that the Uchiha had suffered, and who knew that his brother was not who everyone thought he was. He'd known that Naruto had been aware; hell, the blonde ninja had told him himself.

"I'll admit," she said, looking at him with embarrassment, "I don't know much. Only that it was an order. And that he was only carrying out his mission."

Sasuke stared back at her, an indescribable look on his face. "Do you know why I wasn't killed," he asked. She didn't reply and he didn't expect her to. "The reason I wasn't killed wasn't for him to test his strength against me," he said in a quiet mono-tone, "He spared me because he loved me too much." Sasuke showed no emotion in his gaze as he spoke, only taking note of Sakura's reaction.

Her eyes widened and her hand lifted to cover her mouth, to suppress a gasp maybe?

"He was dying anyway." Sasuke continued, not even needing the provocation to. "But he stayed alive long enough to fight me, long enough for him to die at my feet, leading me to believe that'd I'd finally killed him." He paused for a few minutes, turning his gaze away from Sakura and toward the wide entrance of the large tent. People walked by the door and in and out, all of them carrying on with their day. "He wanted me to be able to kill him and become a hero to the village, for killing the dangerous murderer of the Uchiha," he said caustically.

"The one thing he worked for in the last eight years of his life, was keeping me safe in the village and completely free from harm." He looked back at her, meeting her eyes again. "Too bad it didn't work."

Sakura said nothing, seemingly shocked at his revelation to her. Sasuke was also quiet for a few minutes, before smirking and holding out his hand. "Now go on and tell me what I'm helping to organize today," he said, his voice and attitude back to normal.

Pointing to a faded cardboard box to the right of her desk, she slid it towards him with her foot. "They're patient slips," she spoke, her voice far away, "they need to be color-coded and then put in alphabetical order."

He nodded, removing the top of the box and getting straight to work. He could not help but take notice of the way she continued to watch him, even after he'd ended the conversation and broken their eye contact. Her eyes followed his every movement.

"Thank you," she said as he began to flip through the various pink, yellow, and white sheets of paper. He looked up at her, nodded, and upon noting her quiet look of understanding, he gave her a small half-smile, before resuming his work.

He knew she wasn't thanking him for helping her with her side work.

* * *

It was just nearing noon when Katahana began to tire first. The sun was almost at its highest point in the sky, and the summer heat mercilessly rained down upon them. The shade provided by the trees they travelled under helped, but only by a slight margin.

"Sasuke," the child called, her small legs beginning to wobble as she ran behind him. Sasuke had been uneasy at travelling at such a slow pace, but the speed they'd been carrying for almost seven hours now was beginning to take its toll on the child. "Can we take a break?" she said breathlessly.

Peering over his shoulder at her reddened face and breathlessness, he stopped abruptly and nodded to her. As soon as her feet halted, Katahana let herself fall onto her backside, trying to catch her breath. Sasuke set his pack down, retrieving a container of water, quenching his own thirst before passing it down to the child who snatched it with greedy fingers.

"Don't drink it too fast," Sasuke scolded, "It'll only slow you down once we start again."

"And when will that be?"

Sasuke paused and thought for a few seconds, "We'll take this time to eat and get a little bit of food, and then we leave again in twenty minutes."

The child frowned but nodded, lifting up the canteen and taking smaller, shorter sips.

Leaning his back against the thick trunk of a nearby tree, Sasuke turned his attention toward the direction the 7-year-old who currently sat where she'd stopped, biting into a small roll. Lifting her head and noting how he observed her, she smiled. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Later."

"You're kind of strange," she said, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him. "You don't really talk a lot," she observed. "You remind me a little bit of one of Mom's friends! He's quiet too, but he's weirder than you are," she giggled. "Mom tells me that it's because of things that happened when he was a kid, and that's why he doesn't think before speaking."

She giggled to herself again as she took another bite of her roll. "That why I like him though. He's kind of silly!" she looked at him again, "You're not silly though. Just quiet and stuff. But that's okay, I like you a lot Sasuke-san!" She smiled brightly at him before finishing her small meal and taking a few more sips of water.

"Have you lived in Konoha all your life?" he asked after a few silent minutes. Katahana was now much closer to him, leaning against the tree to his left and picking small pebbles out from the bottom of her sandals.

"Mhm! Konoha is great I love it so much! I really miss it," she said, frowning slightly. "I just want to find my mother and return." Staring at his face, she smiled again, "Have you ever been there?" He nodded. "My favorite part of the _whole entire village_ is the Hokage faces in the mountain," she said giggling to herself, throwing her arms out wide as if representing their massive size. "Especially since Uncle Naruto looks so silly!"

Sasuke found himself frozen at the child's words, staring at her as she continued to talk animatedly.

"It doesn't even look like him that much, he's not even smiling! Naruto-san is _always _smiling. I tell Mom that I think the rock-face guy did a bad job, but she always tells me that he's supposed to look serious or professional or something like that." She folded her arms, a childish grimace etched in her features.

"So you're on a first-name basis with the Kazakage _and_ the Hokage?" he asked, still surprised at how she spoke of his ex-teammate-turned-Hokage in such a casual manner.

She nodded as she smiled, "They're friends of my mother! I get to see Naruto-san all the time but I only ever get to see Gaara-san a couple times a year. He's quiet and a little weird like you too!" She talked, stretching her legs out before her, wriggling her toes. She then lifted her arms above her head as she stretched and began to put her shoes back on.

No wonder people were after this child. She must have been the child of someone who was important to not only the Hidden Leaf but also the Sand as well. Shaking his head, trying to focus on more important things—like getting to Konoha as quickly as possible—he stood and looked down at Katahana.

"Ready?"

She nodded and grinned, picking up her small backpack and waiting for him to take the lead.

They two continued onward, without a stop, up until the sun began to set in the early evening. They'd be just outside the borders of the Land of Fire by the time darkness overtook the forest.

Stopping, Sasuke signaled behind him for Katahana to do so as well. "Let's break for a little while. Ten minutes."

He could see her almost begin to protest, as she had been gradually picking up speed as they travelled, something she was excited about, but instead she nodded and held her hands up to him. Wordlessly, he set his pack down, handed her the water, and strode a few yards deeper into the forest, eyes searching ahead of him cautiously.

He had a bad feeling in his chest. They were only a couple miles away from the Land of Fire's outer border, and rapidly approaching the Leaf Village as the day carried on. But instead of feeling relieved, he knew that things would go downhill soon.

Backing up toward Katahana until he was standing beside her, he reached down and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet. The child, about to ask what he was doing, looked to his face only to see him holding his index finger in front of his mouth, silently asking for her to stay quiet as well. And with wide eyes, she straightened at his side, one hand gripping a strap of her bag, the other, clinging to Sasuke's cloak.

At the sound of something sharp whistling through the air, Sasuke quickly deflected a kunai with one of his very own. The opposing knife lodged itself deep into the tree to their side. Katahana gasped, clinging to him fearfully.

There was a couple seconds where the forest grew silent once more, until suddenly shuriken were thrown at them from all directions. Moving quickly, Sasuke made easy work of deflecting each and every weapon that shot toward them. The girl let out a small cry at the loud '_clinking'_ noises that surrounded her.

Three ninja dressed in dark gray fell from the trees, now standing at eye level with the duo. "Give us the child, and we won't kill you," a female voice spoke demandingly.

"Leave now," Sasuke said in a low, quiet voice. "This is your only warning."

Grinning, the kunoichi, who appeared to be leading the trio, took a few slow steps toward them, drawing twin blades from behind her back and taking an offensive position. "You must be an idiot." She shot toward them faster than Katahana could follow with her eyes.

There were the sounds of metal hitting against metal, and suddenly a body fell to the ground with a dull thud. The ninja fell at Sasuke's feet before them, throat slit, eyes wide and staring. Out of anger at seeing his fallen comrade, another ninja attacked, approaching with heavy steps.

Taking one small step, Sasuke made a quick series of hand signs and before the enemy could react he was engulfed in a giant ball of fire. His screams reverberated through the trees as he fell to his knees, clawing at the flames that ate away at his clothes and his skin.

Turning to the last ninja, eyes now piercing and red, he did not attack. "Leave now."

"Sh—sharingan—" the man gasped at the sight. "It can't be!"

"Leave and tell the others to stay away as well," he spoke in a dark, intimidating voice, "or your fate will be worse than theirs."

"There's more?" the man asked himself, as if in shock at the sight of Sasuke's eyes. "I—I need to…" his panicked words trailed away as he turned and quickly ran back into the forest.

Sasuke watched the ninja retreat and refused to take his eyes off his retreating form until he could find no sign on him. Walking back toward Katahana, he kneeled down in front of her. She was currently staring at him, her arms shaking as she held a kunai out before her.

Reaching out, he carefully plucked the weapon from her hands and tucked it into her backpack which she still held to tightly. Hands now empty, she grabbed Sasuke's hand, clinging to it with all her might.

He led her farther into the forest—far enough so that she wouldn't see the bodies anymore. She'd seen more people die in the past twenty-four hours than most normal children her age would ever see.

"We won't be able to travel our direct path anymore," Sasuke informed her, "there are too many hunters in these woods."

"What do we do now?" she asked fearfully.

Glancing up toward the ever-darkening sky, Sasuke tried to think of a new course of action. One that wouldn't require him having to kill every person who got in his way in front of a little girl. Watching the birds fly through the tree-tops above him, turning in for the night to sleep and stay warm in their nests, Sasuke got an idea.

Digging through his supplies, he found a small notepad and pen, and began writing rapidly. After a minute, he ripped the sheet off the pad and rolled it up, securing it with a small string. Then, biting into his thumb he made some hand signs, spoke lowly and quickly to himself, and slammed his bloodied palm against the ground.

In a quick puff of smoke a small hawk emerged from out of thin air, perching itself onto Sasuke's outstretched arm. Attaching the rolled up message to the bird's leg, he then lifted his arm and the hawk flew away.

"Who are you sending that to?"

Sasuke simply watched the bird disappear out of his sight and into the darkness.

Shikamaru had said to contact him if he'd seen Sakura—which he hadn't—but he figured that if this girl was important enough to the Leaf Village, and even Naruto himself, than he'd receive _some_ help getting Katahana back to the village.

"We're taking a different path. Just follow me."

Turning 90 degrees to the left Sasuke took off once more quickly, Katahana staying closely behind him. Instead of heading directly for Konoha, they'd aim a little north. It would take them slightly longer to get there, but if Shikamaru pulled through for him, then there was no doubt in his mind that this would be successful.

* * *

**A/N**: No new chapter this week unfortunately. Here's something else for you guys to read while we wait for next week. I know most, if not all, of you are starting to piece things in this story together and are coming up with some pretty accurate theories and predictions, it's nice to see.

A big thank-you to all of you who reviewed this past week. A special thanks to 'Nom de Plume' for their lengthy review; the constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

I'm still taking NaruHina and SasuSaku fic recommendations, so if any of you have any, please let me know! Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

As the birds first began stirring in their nests, Sasuke lifted his head, watching their small, feathered forms take off into the early morning sky. The two sat high in a tree, perched on a thick bough, overlooking a valley in the distance. Sasuke sat with his back to the trunk with one leg stretched out before him and the other hanging lazily over the side. Katahana remained motionless, still buried deep into sleep.

Late last night when they'd settled in the tree for their final stop of the night, Katahana—who was practically dead on her feet and utterly unresponsive to Sasuke—had immediately crawled into his lap. Uneasily shifting her weight so that she lay more comfortably on him, she grabbed a fistful of his cloak, laying her cheek down on his chest, and let out a quiet sigh of contentment.

Awkwardly, Sasuke wrapped an arm around her curled up body, cradling her in a way.

Now, almost four hours later, she still remained unconscious to the world in the ex-missing-nin's arms. Sasuke knew that today would be harder on the child. The sun had only just begun to rise, although the temperatures were already rising at an incredible rate. And with the little amount of sleep the girl had received in the past few days, or weeks, Sasuke knew that she'd reach her limit soon enough.

As smoothly as possible, Sasuke shifted onto his feet, Katahana still held tightly in his arms. Looking out into the distance, he knew that they'd need to move as soon as possible. The sun was rising, so they had no time to waste.

"Sasuke-san?" a sleepy voice asked, peering up at him through half-closed lids. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face underneath his chin. "I'm so sleepy," she mumbled, her eyes falling closed once more.

No, there would be no way that he'd be able to travel with her while she was in this state. But as she kept her tiny arms encompassed around his neck, an idea stuck him.

Deftly moving her so that she released her hold on him for a quick moment, he moved his dark cloak so that it wrapped around her; Katahana's face—now almost completely hidden from sight—pressed against his shirt instead. Her arms had positioned themselves back in place, and only needing to support her weight with one arm, he held her securely and took off through the trees.

He'd travelled for two hours before Katahana began to stir. Without halting, he glanced down at her as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Can we stop?" she asked, squinting her eyes at the bright sun shining through the trees.

Halting, he lowered her gently on the wood beneath their feet. The girl stretched her arms above her head, yawning as she did so. "How far are we now?" she asked, rubbing her eye with a small fist.

"It'll be another day at least," he informed her, hand resting on the tree trunk, gazing off into the distance. "Ready?" She nodded, straightening her clothes slightly, before standing by his side.

Taking off, Sasuke was a bit impressed with Katahana's determination. She wasted no time bringing herself up to full speed and holding her stride as they ran. Even after they'd been running for a few hours, she showed no sign of tiring. He was halfway-tempted to ask her if she wanted to rest, but decided against it when he realized that at the speed they were going, they'd make it to their destination before sunrise the next morning.

As they crept closer and closer toward the village, Sasuke's anxiety began to rise. It'd been so long since he'd been in the village—he hadn't shown his face once since he'd left at the age of 13. Knowing that he'd soon be walking through the same gates of Konoha that he'd made his exit through all those years ago, made him nervous.

More than the village itself, the thought of having to speak to so many of his old comrades after his eight-year absence made him feel more uneasy than anything. Undoubtedly there'd be questions; _lots _of them. And there would still be the few people with leftover resentment who still considered him an enemy to the Village, even though he'd been acquitted of his charges after the end of the war.

In choosing to team up with the allied shinobi, he'd made a decision that had ultimately saved his life. If he hadn't, he would've undoubtedly been hunted down and executed. Up until the end of the war, he'd had no plans for his future. He wasn't even sure if he'd have one once the fighting were to cease.

* * *

He sat at the far end of the base, at the edge of the forest, sitting in a tree looking out into the distance. The sun had set hours before, and since then the temperature had dropped drastically. The cool air did not bother Sasuke though, in fact he found it oddly refreshing. It kept him on alert.

And like it had been for the past three weeks, standing below at the base of the tree, and sitting high in a neighboring tree, two nameless shinobi were given charge of monitoring him for the night. At this point, Sasuke simply ignored them completely, doing as he wished and not paying them any attention.

Although he couldn't help but notice when the two quickly departed, leaving him still sitting in his spot high in the treetops.

"Hey."

Turning around, Sasuke saw the pink-haired kunoichi jump from another tree towards him. Landing on the thick bough he occupied, she sat beside him, following his gaze out into the forest.

"Looking for something?"

He shook his head. "Just thinking."

"You're always thinking," she said. It wasn't an accusation, just an observation. "Care to share?"

"Thinking about the war."

Sakura let out a short laugh, tilting her head back and letting her hair fall behind her. "Aren't we all?" She placed her hands behind her and leaned back on them for support. "Everyone's saying that we don't have more than a week before things start to get… messy."

"A week huh?" He picked off a small piece of tree bark and let it fall to the ground below him. "That's not much time."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. As he ran his hands mindlessly along the bark of the tree, Sasuke couldn't help but sense her eyes on him. Turning his head he met her gaze and raised an eyebrow in question. "Aren't you…" she hesitated, "are you scared at all?"

Another piece of bark fell to the ground below, his eyes following it until it disappeared in the grass below. "Not really," he shrugged. "I'm more relieved."

"You do realize that this is a _war_ we're in right? And that people die in wars. Lots of people." She said, unbelieving of his supposed indifference.

"I'm aware. But I'm just thinking of this as the end of all this madness."

"Madness? War is madness, Sasuke," she said, almost reproachful. "War is terror and hate and death all rolled into one. There is nothing good about war—"

"I'm not saying there is," he countered sharply, shooting her a glare. "I'm just saying that this war marks the end of so many things." He looked away from her, stealing a quick glance over his shoulder and toward the base. From their spot they could view the entirety of the base. People were still working hard, preparing and readying themselves for combat. "After the war, and after Madara is defeated, I'll finally be free."

Sakura paused, studying his face, before nodding in understanding. "You'll be free," she repeated quietly. "Where will you go?" she asked after a couple minutes of silence. "You've said already that you won't return to Konoha. What then?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I might just travel some. Explore a bit more of the world." He shrugged. "I may not ever find a place where I'll actually settle down at. Odds are I'll just wander from village to village for the rest of my life."

"Will you ever visit?"

He thought hard and after a moment sighed, "No," he shook his head. "Probably not."

"I figured as much," she said, letting out a deep sigh of her own. The cool air evaporated her breath as is escaped her body. "Naruto's still convinced that he'll get you to return."

Sasuke gave her a sad half-smile. "I know."

"I'll have to try and talk about it with him some more," Sakura said. "Try and get him to forget about it finally."

Sasuke nodded. Over the past week and a half, the two had come to something they would both consider as a mutual understanding of one another. They initiated in quiet, private conversations like these almost every night. Finally, they were getting the chance to talk to one another civilly after all these years.

Of course, they avoided topics that were a bit too painful to discuss, much like their encounter in the Land of Iron several months back. But other than that, Sasuke had been uncharacteristically open with her. Talking freely and not turning away her company.

Sakura let out a light laugh, interrupting the silence that had blanketed them. Upon noting Sasuke's quizzical look, she shook her head, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Just thinking about ridiculous memories. You know, missions from our old genin days?" She let out another tinkling laugh. "I remember the look on yours and Naruto's faces the first time we were assigned to catch some woman's cat for her."

Sasuke allowed himself to enjoy the memory as well, smiling slightly and crossing his arms. "That was painful."

"You two were so angry," she laughed.

"_Naruto_ was angry," he corrected, "I was just annoyed beyond belief."

"It was pretty funny though!"

"It's funny to look back on, but at that moment? Miserable."

She laughed again, leaning her head down on his shoulder, tucking her arm within his. The notion caught him off guard, and for a long moment all he could do was stare down at her pink head uneasily. Unsure of what to do he tried his best to relax his body. She'd done this countless times as children. Perhaps being away from her for so long was why it felt so much stranger.

"And that time we tried to get Kakashi-sensei to take off his mask…"

Sasuke couldn't help but let out a light laugh at that one memory. "That day was almost more frustrating than chasing after the cats."

"Have you seen his face at all since?" he asked peering down at her.

"I did once," she said glancing up at him, grinning. "It was about a year ago. He was out eating with Guy-sensei and he was acting completely normal about it, too. When I walked by—gawking at him of course—he just smiled and waved at me like he always did, and then went back to eating."

Sasuke was shocked and his expression did nothing to hide it.

"Jealous?" she laughed, "when I told Naruto he almost threw a fit."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little envious."

"He's pretty good-looking," she admitted, still-laughing. "I wouldn't be surprised if the mask was originally to ward off any unwanted attention." She elbowed him gently in the ribs, "I'm sure you would've loved having one, huh?"

He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

She laughed once more, leaning into Sasuke as they stared out into the depths of the forest. Hesitantly, he lowered his head slightly, resting his on top of hers. They remained sitting in a comfortable silence for quite some time, listening to the sounds of bugs chirping and frogs croaking, as well as the constant sounds of voices and movement coming from the base.

This was something Sasuke genuinely enjoyed; comfortable silences and being left alone. And even though he wasn't _entirely_ alone, he was just as content as he would be if he were by himself.

"It's going to be strange," Sakura said, breaking the silence eventually, "once the war is over." She lifted her head and looked at him. "There's a chance I might not ever see you again."

Sasuke did not reply. He simply held Sakura's gaze for a long moment before nodding once. That had been one of the things he'd been trying to avoid thinking about. Ever since he was a child, Sakura had been consistently there for him, caring for him and about him. She was always there at the end of the day to say something overly-cheerful to him, always smiling at him, and offering him her company.

Of course, he'd never taken her up on the offer as children. But now, as they sat together high off the ground in the dark of night, he realized that he now preferred her company over anyone else's.

He even preferred it over solitude—something he'd never admit to her.

She was one of the only people in his life that was constantly and consistently looking for ways to help him. Even when he'd turned his back on the village, and her, and even through the past year with all the threats he directed toward her, his increased dismissive attitude, and his complete lack of concern or empathy.

He'd always been able to depend on Sakura. She was always there, waiting for him in case he'd need her help. It was only now, at the end of it all, when he accepted it.

And soon enough, none of it would matter. If they even survived this war, he would not stay. He couldn't bring himself to face the village he'd turned his back on all those years ago.

It would never happen.

"I'm going to miss you," Sakura said quietly, "you big pain in the ass."

Sasuke couldn't help but smile, resting his chin on top of her head. He would see her for the last time sometime within the next few weeks, and that would be it. Closing his eyes, and feeling a strange tightness in his chest that he immediately despised, he refused to think about his impending departure.

And for the moment, he decided to pretend that it didn't matter that he'd be leaving.

Lifting his head and pushing her away from him slightly, she gazed at him with confused eyes, the green shining brightly, even in the moonlight. Then suddenly, before he gave it a second thought, he leaned down and crushed his lips against hers.

* * *

They did not stop that day until an hour before sunset, Katahana impressing Sasuke immensely with her determination and will to keep going. As she drank what was left of the water Sasuke had brought with him, she let out a long breath of air. "How much longer?" she asked, still breathless from the constant running.

"I think we'll be at our point within the hour," he informed her as he re-arranged his bag, folding his cloak and shoving it inside. The air was still hot even with the sun beginning to set in the distance.

"And our point is north of the Village right?"

He nodded. "Whenever you're ready, we'll head out again."

Katahana handed him the empty canteen, threw on her shoes once more as well as her backpack, and looked up at him once more. "Ready."

Resisting the urge to grin at the child's eagerness, they set off once more. They were in the final stretch.

Running without putting any thought into his motions, as the sun finally fell behind the trees, Sasuke immediately had activated his sharingan, and was meticulously scanning the areas directly around them for any type of threats.

They were minutes away from their destination when—out of nowhere—a kunai shot toward Sasuke, who'd been facing the other way momentarily, and before he could dodge, landed itself deep in his upper arm.

Grunting, he allowed himself to fall from the treetops to the ground, relieved when he saw Katahana quickly mirror his motions, not more than a couple feet behind him. Grabbing hold of its handle, Sasuke yanked the kunai clean out of his arm, not showing a single sign of pain.

The child though, taking note with wide eyes of the dark red blood immediately beginning to pour out of his injury, flinched, her grip on her kunai shaky.

"Remember to focus, Katahana," he said quietly and quickly, red eyes peeking at her swiftly before turning their direction back towards the forest ahead of them.

"So the rumors are true?" A deep voice spoke from the thick brush of the forest. Slowly, a man with white hair, also dressed in a white cloak, stepped out from behind a tree and took a few steps toward them. "Uchiha Sasuke still lives."

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke took a defensive position, waiting for the main to make the next move.

"This is such wonderful news," he said with a sickeningly sweet smile, "I had settled for finding the child for a little while, but now that I know you're still alive? Well," he held his arms out wide, almost as if inviting Sasuke for a hug, "You'll do just fine."

"Leave," Sasuke demanded in a cold, hard voice.

"But I've only just arrived," he grinned wickedly, "and I've only just gotten started…"

Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped and a light went out, he disappeared completely out of sight. The sharingan did not detect any movement, for it would've immediately followed it. The man simply… _vanished_.

Sasuke had been knocked violently to the ground before he'd known what had struck him. Immediately springing up, ignoring the blood that was pouring out of a wound on his temple, he turned toward Katahana to see the cloaked man standing beside her. He smiled down at her, reaching out to her, as if to hold her tiny hand.

Sasuke flew towards him and was inches away from striking him in the chest when the man vanished once more. Digging his heels into the ground Sasuke halted himself and quickly side-stepped, placing himself in front of Katahana again.

"You need to get out of here." He spoke to her so quietly and rapidly that she hardly made out the words as he uttered them. "Head back the way we came, but wait until I lunge for him again."

"But—"

"Be ready Katahana," he spoke sharply, glaring with the sharingan. She watched, startled as the patterns in his eyes morphed.

"I'm not going to hurt the child, Sasuke," the man reappeared directly before Sasuke, a reproachful look on his face. "I may even decide to let her keep her eyes."

Sasuke could hear the quick tiny footfalls retreating back into the forest as Katahana listened to his advice and ran. Good, at least he wouldn't have to worry about protecting her as well as himself as he fought.

"Especially since you have the mangekyou," the man's face was lit up with delight, only causing Sasuke to grow more infuriated. "How could I pass us this beautiful opportunity?"

Igniting his arm with chidori and shooting his hand forward at the same instant, Sasuke once more tried striking his assailant. But as the man disappeared yet again, Sasuke growled and spun, looking for him angrily, only to have the man slice Sasuke's forehead with a short blade.

Jumping back, Sasuke couldn't stop the flow of blood from entering his line of sight. Frustrated and acting as quickly as possible, he ripped a strip of his shirt off and quickly wrapped the fabric around his head. But as he regained his stance and stepped forward to approach the man, he was immediately kicked in the back roughly.

Yet again, he'd disappeared and reappeared in an instant.

"I'd really rather this not go on any longer," the voice spoke smoothly, approaching Sasuke's fallen form. "You cannot touch me Sasuke. Just give up."

Sasuke jumped upward, landing in a tree as he glared down at the cloaked man. He was a moment away from using his amaterasu when he heard an ear-piercing scream in the distance.

_Katahana_.

Completely ignoring his opponent, Sasuke turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. She was in danger. The moment he realized how idiotic of an idea it was to have her run off he wanted to yell. Furious with himself, he pushed his legs further…

… only to run directly into the man's long blade.

The white-haired man had materialized directly in front of him, a long sword pointed at Sasuke. Appearing too quickly for Sasuke to be able to move out of the way, he'd ended up running into the blade. Which was currently pierced straight through his chest.

And as soon as the blade had entered his body, the man pulled it out, casually wiping the blood directly onto his bright white cloak. "I didn't want to do that, but you left me with no choice."

Sasuke fell to his knees, stumbling off the branch and to the forest floor below. Hitting the ground he coughed up a large amount of blood, finding it almost impossible to take air into his lungs.

"I was going to just leave you blind. But now I guess you'll have to die," he said, as if saddened by his decision. "I find it terribly disappointing that I'll have to orphan another child. Haruno Sakura put up much more of a fight than this."

Lifting his head Sasuke glared at him, unable to say anything—instead the only thing he could get to come out of his mouth was more blood. The taste of iron was almost enough to push Sasuke over the edge towards unconsciousness, but at the mentioning of Sakura, his mind was struggling to form a coherent sentence; his thoughts were running a mile a second. Spitting a mouthful of blood on the man's white cloak, all Sasuke could manage was a weakened glare.

Before the man could lift his sword once more, he could hear a faint noise. Bodies were approaching, and quickly.

"Hm," the man sheathed his sword, glancing down at Sasuke with a smile, "it seems this will have to wait for another day."

"It's him!" Sasuke heard a voice nearby yell. Still watching the white-clad man's figure, he observed as the man waved toward the newcomers and smiled, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Unable to hold his head up any longer, Sasuke's thoughts were only centered around two people; Sakura and Katahana. The way he'd spoken of Sakura made Sasuke's chest erupt in a pain not caused by man-made tools. Was she dead? Had this man killed her?

And as he struggled to keep his eyes opened, he tried looking off into the distance, more than anything wanting to apologize to Katahana. _I'm sorry I couldn't protect you_.

But just before he allowed his eyes to close, a tiny form flew through the trees and directly over top of him. If he had the ability to even inhale, he would've sighed in relief. Her dark gray jacket and long black hair made her presence known to Sasuke as she landed on the opposite side of where he'd been facing.

"_Stay back!"_ he heard her tiny voice screech toward the approaching forms. With as much strength as he could muster, adrenaline pumping once more at the sight of the child alive and well, he rolled himself over onto his stomach and slowly picked himself up on all fours, slowing rising to his unsteady feet.

Taking note of his blood-soaked clothing, and the pool of red steadily growing beneath him, he knew that it wasn't very likely he'd survive any further fighting, but he'd try and protect Katahana until the very end.

It wasn't until he looked at her face, which was staring back at him, worried and scared, when he fell to his knees once more.

The shock hit him like a ton of bricks—no, it was unlike anything else he'd ever felt before. Bright red eyes stared back at his, the child's sharingan glowing in the night.

"Sasuke!" she ran up to him and grabbed his sleeve. "We have to get up, we have to move!"

Sasuke could not move. All he could do was stare back into her eyes. The same eyes as his.

_"I'm not going to hurt the child, Sasuke. I may even decide to let her keep her eyes."_

_"I find it terribly disappointing that I'll have to orphan another child."_

_"Haruno Sakura put up much more of a fight than this."_

Opening his mouth, nothing more except for more blood spilled out, causing Katahana to scream, terrified at the sight of him before her, dying.

"Hana!" A voice called from behind her, appearing before the child seconds later, "Katahana!"

Sasuke could hardly make out the glowing form before him, but the voice was unmistakable.

"Naruto," the child sobbed, "You have to help him! Please help him."

"Sasuke!" just as the ex-Leaf nin allowed himself to fall forward, a pair of glowing yellow arms caught him. As Sasuke fell into unconsciousness all he could do was listen as voices yelled back and forth to each other. The last thing he remembered seeing was Katahana, tears spilling from bright red eyes.

* * *

**A/N**: And finally, so many things fall together.

Many of you were correct with your theories so keep 'em coming as the chapters go along! It's fun to see. And just so you all know, this story is going to be extremely lengthy, so if any of you are put-off by that for any reason, I'd rethink getting _too_ into this story. I know usually that isn't an issue with most people, but hey, I figured a heads-up would be appreciated. So far I have about 180 pages written; this chapter brings you all up to page 65 or so. And where I am right now (on page 180) I've just barely reached the halfway mark for the story.

So you all have a lot of reading ahead of you. I genuinely hope you are enjoying yourselves.

Look for the next chapter sometime this week. Hopefully I'll have more to say once the new Naruto chapter gets posted.


	10. Chapter 10

Pressing his lips against hers, Sasuke held his ground waiting for a reaction.

Releasing a shocked squeak, Sakura quickly got over her surprise and responded eagerly. The two kissed each other with such fervor and passion that, momentarily, they seemed to forget their location—thirty feet in the air. Almost stumbling over the edge of the thick bough of the tree, Sasuke grabbed Sakura around the waist, steadying her, before pulling her against him and crashing his lips against hers once more.

They kissed with the all the pent-up emotion and passion they'd built up over the years, all of it pouring out at once. Their emotions collided together in a frenzy; both of them held the other close, exploring each other with wandering hands, unable to get enough of one another.

They'd soon come to realize, that after that night, they'd never get enough of one another. No matter how many more nights they'd spend together deep in the forest, under the cover of the trees and light of the moon, their bodies joining together in synchronized passion. They would always want more.

Sasuke and Sakura spent the next five days training, eating meals together, and preparing for war together. They spent nights together in the forest, reminiscing on old times, talking about their pasts and catching each other up on the last four years of their lives. They started each night out with conversation, which would eventually lead to kissing, then to sex, and then ending once more in conversation. Afterward, they'd lie together in the cool grass, letting the conversation die down as they took comfort in each other's company, ending each night in comfortable silence. They'd return to the base in the early hours of the morning.

They talked about everything and anything.

Everything, except their forthcoming separation.

Neither wanted to think or speak about the fact that they'd never see each other again. So they didn't.

And when it came time, almost three weeks later, for Sasuke to make his departure, there were no dramatic or prolonged goodbyes. There were actually no goodbyes at all. Sasuke was deemed healed of all of his injuries that he'd sustained in battle and was therefore discharged from the hospital. Sakura, who'd been immediately sent to a base dozens of miles away in order to help the other war victims, had been too busy to even stop by and check on his condition. When she finally returned, she was only met with the frowns of her fellow medic-nin, as they informed her of his discharge, three days prior.

He left behind no note. No memento for Sakura to have. He left her with nothing but the memories and experiences they'd shared together.

Or at least.

So he'd thought.

* * *

With the conscious world slowly crawling back to him, Sasuke did not know where he was, or what had happened as he awakened. Opening his eyes, he reclosed them immediately as the bright lights of the room hurt his eyes. Peering through partially opened eyelids at his surroundings, he found himself in a bare room.

Lifting himself with his arms, he couldn't hold back the groan of pain he released. Seconds after the sound escaped, a head peeked into the doorway and looked at him with wide, pale eyes.

"You're awake!" she said, seemingly shocked at his conscious form. Sasuke looked back at her, studying the face he hadn't seen since the war. Hyuuga Hinata stood in the doorway for a moment, stunned, before collecting herself and walking up to his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Sasuke had never particularly liked Hinata, although he had never found himself disliking her either, which he couldn't say for a majority of his old classmates. She'd been quiet and hardly ever spoke to him at all. The last time he'd seen her had been when he'd left the hospital after the war was over. She'd nervously asked him if he wanted her to pass on a message to Sakura, but he said nothing to her, walking past her and towards the exit.

Her hair was slightly shorter, he thought, but just as dark as ever. But she looked the same for the most part; older by a few years of course, but no considerable changes. Her byakugan had always been her most distinguishing characteristic, followed closely by her soft-spoken voice.

Sasuke did not reply to her question as he studied his condition. Lifting his hand to his head, his fingertips brushed against the bandages which were currently wrapped securely across his forehead. Then, trying to adjust his positioning once more, he shifted himself into a more upright position, wincing at the sharp pain in his chest.

"Careful!" the woman squeaked timidly, holding her arms out to him, "Here let me—"

"I'm fine," he insisted in a rough, scratchy voice, declining her assistance. Upon further inspection, he noted how his chest was also thoroughly bandaged.

"You were very lucky," Hinata said quietly as she noted his observation of his bandaged torso. "The blade just barely missed your spine."

He had to repress a slight shudder at her words. In fighting his opponent for hardly 5 minutes, Sasuke had almost managed to paralyze himself with his own carelessness.

Looking at the window to his right, Sasuke could only assume he was in the hospital in Konoha. The sky was dark, the blackness of the night swallowing the village whole. How long had he been unconscious? A few hours? A few days?

"Where's Naruto?" he asked turning his head back to meet her worried gaze. "Where's—"

The lump that appeared in his throat at the thought of Katahana stopped his speech immediately. His hands at his sides clenched and unclenched, his eyes facing down slightly, staring at the end of his hospital bed. Trying to stop his thoughts from running rampant, he shook his head and looked at Hinata again.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked again demandingly causing Hinata to flinch back at his words.

"I'm right here."

His head shooting towards the doorway, he spotted Naruto slowly entering the room, a toddler perched on his hip. Naruto met his gaze with a serious expression of his own before turning to Hinata and smiling gently.

Sasuke watched as the dark-haired child reached toward the timid woman, and with a tiny giggle wrapped its chubby arms around her neck as Naruto passed the child off to her. Making a blubbering noise, the child pressed its face into Hinata's shoulder before turning its head toward Sasuke.

A tiny pair of byakugan stared back at him curiously. The child pointed a chubby finger at Sasuke before turning to Naruto and babbling some incoherent nonsense.

"That's Sasuke," Naruto told the small boy with a smile. "He's an old friend."

Completely ignoring Naruto's casual use of the word 'friend', all Sasuke could honestly wonder was how on Earth Naruto knew what that child had been saying, with its incomprehensible baby mumbling.

"I'll see you guys in a little bit," Naruto said before leaning forward and giving Hinata a quick peck on the lips. The woman smiled back brightly and with the child now in her arms walked toward the doorway, quietly telling the child to 'say bye to Daddy'. The child merely giggled and waved both of his chubby hands toward the two men before Hinata walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Sasuke was relieved when the woman finally left with the child, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sight of familial affection before him. "You've got a kid," he deadpanned, still trying to wrap his head around the thought of Naruto being a father.

Naruto turned toward him, grinning brightly. "That's Kenji. He'll be two this December." He grabbed a chair out of the corner of the room and dragged it behind him, sitting himself at Sasuke's side.

"Hinata?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, an eyebrow raised. He hadn't seen that one coming. But for all he knew, the two could have been together even back during the war; Sasuke hadn't paid close enough attention to the girl, and he'd hardly seen the two together.

Naruto kept his grin, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head. "We've been married almost 3 years now." Sasuke merely nodded before turning his head back toward the window.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke after a couple minutes of silence. He sighed, "I take it you have some questions?"

The Uchiha ignored him, his fists grasping the sheets below him tightly, his jaw clenched. Still gazing out the window he almost laughed as he noted the ANBU member perched in a tree slightly off in the distance, watching him through the dark of night. A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

"Where's Katahana?" he asked, eyes still trained on the window.

"She's on the floor below this one, in the children's ward." He explained, his expression serious. "She's not hurt," he said quickly after Sasuke turned his gaze toward him and glared, "we're just holding her there for now."

"Tell me," Sasuke commanded, trying to hide the shaking of his voice, "is she—is she my…"

Naruto nodded once, "She's your daughter."

Hearing it spoken out loud made Sasuke's head spin. Since he'd placed the pieces together out in the woods before losing consciousness, he was still skeptical. Some part of his mind insisted to him that there was some coincidence or misunderstanding or just _something_ that wouldn't end with him being the father to a child he didn't know existed in the first place.

"Does she," he paused, clearing his throat which was suddenly tight, "does she know who I am?"

"No," he shook his head. "She's never been told about you. She's actually only recently started asking about who her father was; I'd say she first asked about a year ago," he thought back, scratching his chin slightly. "Sakura always handled it well though, so we haven't had to explain anything yet."

His thoughts were out-of-control, chaotic and messy, spinning, but ultimately centered on this child. _His_ child. Then his mind starting putting the pieces together about another situation…

"Sakura. She's still missing isn't she?"

Naruto nodded grimly, "Yes. Shikamaru had told me he'd contacted you about it. To be honest we were really hoping you would know," he sighed. "You were basically our last shot."

"How long?"

"It's been almost a month since we heard from her last. We hadn't known where either of them was for the longest time. They were scheduled to stop by and take refuge for a few months in the Village Hidden in the Sand; Gaara offered his assistance. But when we didn't hear anything, we'd started to fear the worst…" Naruto shook his head before looking Sasuke in the eye. "We had no idea that of all people to come across, Hana would come across you. Shikamaru told me that you were attempting to cross the border and that you had a missing Konoha child with you," he let out a grim laugh, "but for some reason none of us figured it'd be her."

"That man, the one in the white." Sasuke's muscled clenched in anger, "Who is he?"

"Masaru," Naruto said with malice, frustration taking hold. "He's been after Hana for quite some time. I've only ever encountered him a few times, but he's infuriatingly difficult to battle, and even harder to track."

"Is it some sort of teleportation jutsu?"

"I don't know. Shikamaru doubts it, and I trust his judgment. We're pretty sure it's something entirely different." He sighed, "We just don't know yet."

"He's after the sharingan," he said grimly, "isn't he?"

"Yes. Somehow word has spread over the past few years that there'd been another Uchiha. And I guess with your disappearance some people figured they'd take a stab at trying to obtain it."

Sasuke's blood boiled as he listened to Naruto talk. These idiots thought they could simply _take_ the sharingan from an Uchiha?

"Do they have a death wish?"

"They must," Naruto said, understanding Sasuke's fury. "There'd been a few people here and there that weren't much of a threat to us, but in the past few months, things have gotten worse. That's when Masaru first made an appearance."

"He was the seventh person in less than two days that I'd stumbled upon who knew who she was," Sasuke said angrily. "Just how many of them are there out there!?"

"A lot," Naruto said sadly, "Masaru has an entire network of people working under him. They do most of the dirty work."

Sasuke hadn't realized that he was shaking with fury until Naruto put a firm hand on his shoulder. Glaring at the young Hokage, Sasuke brushed his hand off of him before placing a hand on his forehead, as if he could physically get his thoughts and emotions to steady themselves. He had a daughter. A seven-year old daughter who was being hunted by a man who wanted her eyes. His daughter, who didn't know who he was, or even who _she _was.

"She doesn't know why she'd being attacked." It wasn't a question. Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, eyes narrowing. "She told me herself. Why didn't you tell her?"

"We knew that it would lead to more questions and more trouble—"

"So you hid the truth from her?"

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke in a loud, firm voice, trying to calm down Sasuke, who he could see was growing increasingly irritated. "Sakura tried to do what she thought was best for her," he explained. "The past 8 years have been hard on her. She's been doing the best she can."

To that, Sasuke's mouth closed tightly, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"That man. Masaru. He must have been the one who attacked Sakura and Katahana."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He told me himself," he confessed in a dull voice. "About how he didn't want to 'orphan another child' and how Sakura had 'put up much more of a fight' than I had," he said bleakly.

Naruto quickly covered his shock with a pensive face. "Well, we've been asking Hana various questions over the course of the past couple days. So we'll have to pinpoint precisely where they were attacked and go from there."

Sasuke nodded absently, agreeing with Naruto's words. His thoughts were miles away; or more appropriately, a floor away.

"You can go see her you know?" the ex-missing-nin looked at his old teammate with an apprehensive face. "She's been asking about you." Sasuke couldn't reply verbally. All he could do was nod once and swallow the lump in his throat.

Sasuke didn't get nervous. It hadn't happened since he was a child. He was fearless and could take on any enemy regardless of the danger, without batting an eye. This though…

This was entirely different. He'd gone from being a misanthropic loner to being a father over the course of the week. He was still working to wrap his head around it all, but he found that he could hardly comprehend it all.

"You don't have to now, of course," he said quickly, as if sensing Sasuke's discomfort. "But if you decide to, she's in room 503."

"I'll go," Sasuke said, throwing his blanket off of himself. Shifting his weight he flung his feet over the side, wincing in pain. He held his hand up to keep Naruto at bay, "I'm fine," he stated through gritted teeth.

Naruto nodded before handing Sasuke a shirt, which he quickly put on over his head, despite the screaming protest from the pain in his abdomen. Then with a look of determination on his face, he stood up on bare, unsteady feet and looked at Naruto, who was standing cautiously beside him. "Take me there."

* * *

Sasuke stood at the door for what seemed like hours, staring at the tiny plate next to the doorframe, with a blue '503' etched into the metallic surface. Behind him, Naruto stood waiting patiently for Sasuke to open the door.

"Naruto," he said low, still facing the door, "does..."

The blonde-haired man waited for a long minute for Sasuke to continue, and when he failed to do so, he raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Does she prefer Katahana, or Hana?"

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he addressed the back of his friend's head, "You can ask her yourself. Now," he pressed a hand firmly against Sasuke's back, urging him forward, "go introduce yourself to your daughter."

Attempting to swallow the lump in his throat that simply wouldn't go away, Sasuke placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. Opening the door a few inches, he paused, waiting to hear some sort of acknowledgement from inside. Peeking his head through the door, he looked into the room scanning it for any signs of the child.

It wasn't until he saw the pair of feet sticking out from beneath the hospital bed. Walking completely into the room, he turned and gave Naruto one last fleeting glance—to which he replied with a smile and eager thumbs up—before closing the door gently behind him. The 'click' of the doorknob being put back into place caused a small squeak from underneath the bed.

Katahana looked up at him from underneath the bed, and as she noticed who was standing before her, she let out a small cry before scrambling to her feet and running towards him.

Sasuke barely had time to say anything before she crashed into his chest, tiny arms wrapping around him, trapping him in a strong hug. Trying to suppress a groan, Sasuke stood his ground, determined to stay standing _and_ conscious as the pain tore through him.

"Careful," he said, his voice strained. "I'm a little… sore."

Her tearful eyes looked up at him regretfully before she quickly released him and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke I didn't mean to hurt you I'd forgotten that you were hurt there! I'm sorry I was just really really worried and wasn't thinking and—"

"Katahana," he said, leaning down slightly until he was almost at her eye level, "it's fine," he assured. "You can stop apologizing." She took in a deep breath before letting it out dramatically, swinging her arms at her side. He frowned, "Why were you under the bed?"

"I was hiding," she admitted, embarrassed. "I don't want them finding me anymore."

Sasuke suddenly found himself not knowing what he should say to the girl. Or how he should even approach the subject of him being her father.

He should have let Naruto do all of this for him.

"Let's… talk." He spoke with an uneasy voice, causing Katahana to gaze up at him, concerned.

"Okay," she mumbled quietly before moving toward her bed. Sitting at the top of it toward the pillows, she picked one up and hugged it tightly, watching him as he cautiously approached the bed and sat down.

Letting his apprehension get the best of him, he let out a long sigh, before taking a deep breath and turning toward her.

"Are you leaving?" she asked in a small voice, before he could even think to say anything.

"Leaving?"

"Yeah, as in, going somewhere and leaving me here."

Sasuke thought hard. He hadn't even thought that far ahead. At the present time all he'd been concerned about on their way to the village was getting her there safe and sound. Now that he was there, he didn't know what he'd do next.

"I… don't know," when her face fell into a sad, almost devastated-looking expression, he seemed to have known that was the wrong thing to say. "I mean, I don't know what I'll be doing, yet."

Her face did not brighten, but her sadness seemed to let up a bit. "Okay," she muttered in a small voice.

"Katahana, did your mother ever talk to you about your father?"

The small girl seemed to think for a few seconds, obviously not expecting that question to be asked. "Uh, not really. She would tell me that it wasn't time for me to know about him yet."

Sasuke frowned. "So you don't know anything about him?"

She began to shake her head, but stopped abruptly, "Well, I don't know what it has to do with anything. But a couple times, at the park, I've heard a few of the adults whispering about me," she frowned. "They'd always say the word 'Uchiha' and I never knew what that meant." She stretched her arms above her head and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "I asked my mom and Naruto-san and I even asked Ino-san!" she said, exasperated. "The only person who would tell me _anything_ was Kakashi-san."

Sasuke wanted to scoff. Leave it to Kakashi to tell a child something that everybody else would try to keep a secret from her.

"He told me it was a very important name," she said matter-of-factly, "that not many people get to have. Which doesn't really make sense since my name is Haruno. But he told me that it was a good thing, and that I shouldn't worry about it!" She paused and looked at him with an inquisitive glance. "One of those bad men," she spoke quietly, "the ones who snuck into your house. They called you that, too, didn't they?"

"Uchiha is my name," he explained to the child. "Uchiha Sasuke." He hesitated, trying to form his next sentence as best as he could. "Uchiha is not your given name," he explained slowly, "but nevertheless, you are an Uchiha."

"Okay?" she said, her face scrunched up in confusion, clearly not understanding.

"Katahana," he took in a deep breath, "we share the same name, because we're related." She looked up at him with wide eyes, taken off guard. "I'm your father, Katahana."

He held his breath after the words left his mouth, hanging in the air. The words ricocheted around in his own head after he uttered them. _I'm your father. Your father. I'm your father Katahana._

"You are?" she asked in a small, quiet voice. He nodded in reply. She hugged the pillow tightly, pulling at a loose string on the end of it. "Where did you meet mom?" Sasuke stared back at the child. He hadn't been expecting for _that_ to be the first thing she asked him.

"Your mother and I were teammates back when we were children."

"With Naruto-san, right?"

"Right," he nodded, relieved that the conversation seemed to be going smoothly. "We were friends and then—" he paused, not knowing how to explain the situation to the child. Looking down at her, he knew he needed to be as vague as possible. "And then I left for a few years to… take care of some things. And then I met up with Naruto and your mother again and we… became… friends again," he said awkwardly, trying to sugarcoat the conversation as much as he was able to.

"But," as her upper lip started trembling, Sasuke already knew what she was going to ask, "why did you leave?"

"Before you were born," Sasuke paused, again searching for the correct words to use, "I was planning on moving away. So when your mother found out that she was going to have a baby, I was already moved far, far away."

"Oh," she whispered. "So, you didn't know I was born?"

"No," he conceded, "I didn't know you were my daughter until we got here."

Repeating his words in his head, Sasuke's frustration grew. Sakura had been pregnant with his child. She'd given birth to _and_ raised his child. And he'd never once been notified.

Before he could allow any anger to surface, he tried reasoning with himself. Shikamaru himself had said that they had been searching for him for a while. Besides, even if they _had_ found him and informed him of the situation, what would he have done then? Returned to the village?

The more he thought about it, the less uncertain his thoughts grew.

"So you're my dad?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"Can I…" her face flushed a soft pink color as she buried her head in the pillow and mumbled something.

"What?" he asked, unable to hear a single word she'd uttered.

"Is it okay if I… call you dad?"

Taken off guard, the lump in Sasuke's throat was more prominent than ever. His chest was tight with a confusing array of emotions and he couldn't bring himself to speak even a single word. Slowly, he nodded his head once.

"Okay," she nodded, trying to hide her steadily-growing grin behind the pillow she held in her arms. "So when you helped me and gave me food and stuff, you didn't know who I was?" He shook his head. "That's so crazy!" she giggled. "See, I knew I was going to meet you I knew it!" she giggled loudly, bouncing up and down excitedly on the mattress beneath her.

Suddenly, a quiet knock on the door brought Sasuke's attention away from the bouncing girl in front of him.

"Oh Hana," a voice called as the door slowly opened, "I have something for you!" opening the door, Yamanaka Ino stood, grinning, a tray full of food in her grasp. Upon seeing Sasuke though, she faltered, almost dropping the tray to the ground.

"Oh! Sasuke, I didn't know you were in here," with wide, shocked eyes she looked from him, to Katahana, and back again. "It's good to see you again."

"Ino-san Ino-san!" she child called, hopping off the bed and running over to the young woman. she grabbed hold of her shirt and pulled the woman after her. "Look! It's my dad! He's here!"

Ino looked at Sasuke with wide eyes, looking back down to Katahana, who stood grinning up at her. As she looked back at Sasuke, he closed his eyes and nodded once, confirming the shocking revelation. She knew.

Pulling a smile onto her face, Ino reached down and patted Katahana's head. "That's so exciting!" she said, trying to be as eager and enthusiastic as she could. "Now sit down. I have dinner!"

The child scrambled up into the bed and sat, legs crossed, arms held out in front of her. Taking the tray she immediately began eating.

Ino shot another concerned look at the girl and folded her arms across her chest. Glancing over at Sasuke, finding his eyes on the girl, she nudged one of his legs with her own. When he looked over at her, she motioned for him to follow her. He nodded and stood.

"Hey, we're going to go catch up on some stuff," Ino said leaning over to Katahana, who was currently drinking some sort of juice. "But we'll be back in a few, alright?" She kissed the child on the forehead before shooting her another smile. Katahana smiled back brightly before directing her attention back at her meal.

"Come on," she muttered to Sasuke as she walked out of the room, leading the way.

Sasuke had to repress a sigh as he followed the woman out into the hallway.

As Ino closed the door she took a few steps farther down the hall, so that they'd be out of ear-shot of Katahana if she were to attempt to eavesdrop. "I'm not going to lie," she said, stopping and turning to look at Sasuke, taking in his slightly disheveled appearance, "I was not expecting to see you around these parts. When Shikamaru told me you were heading back and needed help, I laughed in his face. That was until I saw you bleeding to death in Naruto's arms and Katahana screaming her head off." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said something about never wanting to return to the village?"

"This wasn't exactly planned," he stated in his defense, not enjoying her sarcastic tone.

She held up a hand to stop him from saying anything further. "Don't bother explaining anything now. There's going to be a meeting later that I'll be at, and we'll be getting all that information out of you then."

"If there's nothing you want from me then why are we out here?"

"Oh, I didn't say that there wasn't anything I wanted to hear from you. Just that I didn't want you explaining your little 'adventure' yet. I just want to know what you're planning on doing now."

Sasuke stared back at her severe expression, not giving anything away. "I don't know yet."

Ino scoffed at him. "Well it's not as if you have many options to choose from. You can stay in the village. You can leave. It's really not that hard of a question," she pointed out.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," he growled in a low voice. "I'm still trying to let it sink in that I have a child I never knew about."

Ino laughed. "Yeah cause Sakura _so_ had a way of letting you know she was pregnant. And you _totally_ would have come running back if you knew. And there isn't a single _doubt_ in my mind that you would've looked after the two of them like such a _loving _father—"

"I don't have to hear this," he snapped, turning around and walking back toward Katahana's door.

"I think you do," Ino declared. "I think that you need to know all Sakura's done for you and your child, and all we've done to keep her safe."

Sasuke stopped, cursing himself. He didn't want to owe these people anything. It's not like he knew he had a daughter, and it wasn't as if he'd asked anyone to take care of her for him.

But the more and more he thought about her words, he relented, his shoulders slouching as he turned back around to face the woman. Without him even asking, they'd helped to raise his child and to protect her. They'd been doing it her entire life, and he'd only been _attempting_ to do it for a few days.

"She's a great kid," Ino mentioned after he walked back up to where she stood, leaning against the wall. "Very smart and charismatic." Ino grinned, "I don't think there's ever been a person who's met her that doesn't love her."

"Is it a known fact that I'm…"

"That you're her father? Oh definitely. A select few of us knew while she was pregnant, but after she was born, it was unmistakable. She looks just like you after all. Same eyes, same hair."

"And people were okay with that?"

"Oh, hell no. Not at first. There were people who still harbored ill will towards you and the Uchiha as a whole. Dozens of people called for her banishment from the village, screaming ridiculous things about the 'cursed clan' and that she'd only 'grow up to be a monster'." Sasuke's eyes widened as he balled his hands into fists, but the blonde shook her head, "Don't worry. As soon as Naruto heard of this, he decided it was an appropriate time to enlighten the people on the truth of the Uchiha."

Sasuke's fury quickly dissipated and replaced itself with shock. "After everyone learned the truth, their animosity diminished until there were only a few, old, bitter souls left, who still held their resentment regardless of what was said. But there haven't been any problems since. And Katahana's had an extremely normal childhood."

He had been aware that Naruto had eventually made the truth about Itachi's sacrifice and the village's wrong-doings common knowledge amongst the people of the Hidden Leaf—the last time he had seen Naruto, which had been 3 years after his departure, the Hokage informed him of it—but he had no idea that in doing so, he'd helped to ensure a pleasant future for his daughter.

A strange tightness presented itself in Sasuke's throat. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he knew he'd have to thank Naruto sooner or later.

"She may look like you," Ino let out a small laugh, "but she acts a lot more like Sakura. Social, outspoken, very warm-hearted. She's very competitive though," she grinned at the man, "Sakura swears she gets that from you, but I think it may be a little bit from both of her parents. Oh and definitely the stubbornness as well."

Sasuke was struggling to take all of this information in. But with his exhaustion, healing injuries, and still reeling from the fact that he had a _daughter_, he could hardly wrap his head around any of this new information.

"I just want to know one thing," Sasuke said, cutting Ino off. "Who is after her?"

"That'll have to wait until the meeting later. It'll take a long time to explain anyways."

"How long has Sakura been missing now?"

Ino's expression turned grim. "It'll be a month the day after tomorrow."

"And still no luck?" Sasuke wasn't hopeful.

"Nothing. We're starting to run out of options, too." She shook her head in frustration, trying to keep her emotions at bay. "But if Katahana asks, please just tell her that everyone is looking, and that we'll bring her back."

Sasuke noted how Ino didn't bother tacking on the word 'alive' to her statement. Since his encounter with Shikamaru a few days prior, it seemed that everyone was beginning to lose hope of finding Sakura.

"Now I'll see you tonight," she yawned, stretching her arms above her head, her shirt riding up and revealing more of her already-exposed stomach. "I've been up all night with Katahana, so I'm going to hit the hay." She looked him up and down, "You should probably get some rest, too. You look like shit."

He glared, not amused. She laughed in reply, "You haven't changed a bit, Sasuke. Still no sense of humor after all these years."

He turned to leave her where she stood, but just before he reached Katahana's door, Ino called toward him. "If you're planning on staying long, I'll just warn you that someone will be dropping by really soon. We all take turns making sure someone is here with her. We have a little shift-system worked out."

"Who?" Sasuke asked, as if that would determine whether he'd stay or not. Really, it would determine whether or not he'd stay for a few seconds, or a few minutes.

"I can't remember. Either Kiba or Lee."

Frowning, he decided he'd stay long enough to say goodbye. He didn't feel like dealing with either of the two men. At least, not yet. Opening her door and stepping inside, he was immediately approached by a running child, who wrapped him tightly in a hug, giggling into his side.

He'd deal with everyone else later, when he had to.

But as he hesitantly leaned down on one knee and wrapped a cautious arm around her, he knew they could wait until later. There were more important things—and people—to deal with now.

* * *

**A/N**: The influx of reviews I received from last chapter put me in a lovely mood and got me motivated to do quite a bit of writing. So since I'm feeling quite generous, I decided to post this chapter a lot earlier than I originally intended; I also made it a bit longer than I originally had it.

It was wonderful to read everyone's reaction from last chapter. I hope you all enjoy the introduction of a few of our old Konoha ninja. I'll be slowly re-introducing more and more of them as the next few chapters goes on.

Let me know what you think; even criticism is welcome.

Happy reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Poking around at his dinner, he knew he wouldn't be able to eat any of the lukewarm food. His head hurt, he was tired, and his stomach was in knots at the thought of the impending meeting he was to attend that grew closer and closer as time passed. Naruto had stopped by once more since the early hours of the morning, just to check on him and inform him of the meeting. After informing the Hokage that Ino had already informed him, Sasuke listened to Naruto say a few more things before briskly making an exit, leaving him to resume his impatient pacing.

He'd wanted to spend more time with Katahana; he'd be lying if he said otherwise. But he didn't want to sit in the same room with one of his ex-comrades while he tried to familiarize himself with his daughter. As he'd left Katahana's room during the morning, he'd just barely avoided an encounter with the Inuzuka man. Turning the corner, he could faintly hear the whining of the man's large dog, just at the opposite end of the hall. But instead of turning to acknowledge the two, he continued walking, disappearing through the doors of the stairwell and swiftly making his ascent towards his room.

He had never been a big fan of Kiba or Akamaru, and he was not about to 'make nice' with either of them. Or at least not yet.

He was still silently thinking of his old comrades, and how—according to Ino—they'd all helped Sakura to raise Katahana. His and Sakura's daughter.

And as his mind shifted to Sakura, his headache intensified. He'd intended on leaving that day, soon after the war, without doing anything of any sort of significance. He didn't want her to remember him or dwell on their final weeks together any more than she needed to.

But not only had he left her with more than he'd intended, it had been a _child_ of all things.

Stupidly enough, the possibility of conception wasn't even a thought of Sasuke's the entire time the two were sneaking off into the woods each night. He felt like an idiot for being so careless and dumb at the time, but he did not dwell on it for long.

Sure they'd been young and irresponsible, but there was nothing that could be done about it anymore. Now, there was a child involved—their child—and there was a situation at hand that was so dangerous, that even within days of being in contact with the child, he'd almost been killed.

And the same people, who were after his daughter, may have possibly even killed Sakura.

Pushing his tray of food away from him and onto a table nearby, he grimaced as his stomach did flips. He refused to think of that. She couldn't have been killed, it wasn't possible. She was stronger than that, damnit. He knew she was.

But once more his mind drifted back toward Katahana as Ino's voiced echoed in his head. What _was_ he going to do now? If Sakura really was dead, would he stay with the child, and try to be a father to her? Even if Sakura wasn't, would he stay, or would he simply leave again to continue his meaningless life of solitude?

Trying to remove the stressful thoughts from his head, he decided that he would think through all of that once the time came. For now, all he needed to worry about was the meeting he'd be dragged to later.

Yet as Naruto opened the door, Sasuke knew he wouldn't have to wait any longer.

"Ready?" Naruto asked, donning his long, orange and white cloak. The Hokage look suited Naruto, Sasuke thought. He'd never tell the man that though. He was sure that his ego didn't need to be boosted more than it already probably was.

Sasuke nodded, not trusting his voice to sound as sturdy as he wanted it to. The sun had set almost an hour ago, and as the two walked up the stairs toward the roof, Sasuke faltered.

"Who's with Katahana?" Since Ino had told him that she, as well as the others, would be at this meeting, he had neglected to think about who would be looking after the girl.

"Don't worry," Naruto said, handing Sasuke a black, hooded cloak, "She's already where we're going. I brought her there myself."

A little reassured by Naruto's words, he threw on the cloak, fastening it at the top before the two exited the stairwell onto the roof.

Wasting no time, the two jumped quickly and deftly from rooftop to rooftop, making their way toward the Hokage monument. Not noticing it before, Sasuke took in the new addition to the monument on the far right. He could understand what Katahana had been telling him before; it hardly resembled Naruto at all. Unsure whether or not they intended for him to look old and bored, the stone-carved Naruto appeared to be sporting a grimace.

Stopping just at the base of the mountain, Naruto walked over to a small divot in the rock, placing his hand over top of it. Sasuke watched as Naruto make a quick series of hand signs before hitting his palm flat against the stone. Slowly, a wide sheet of rock moved aside, revealing a passageway which led directly down a flight of stairs.

As Naruto walked straight down the stairs, Sasuke watched him for a moment, but as the stone began to close once more, he swiftly entered after the man and followed closely behind him.

The stairwell was very dimly lit, a torch lit every dozen or so steps, but Sasuke made his way down the steep stairs carefully, remaining close to Naruto the entire time. Although when the blonde man stopped abruptly, Sasuke almost ran into the back of him.

"What are you doing?" he growled, supporting himself on the hard wall beside him. He glanced around Naruto and down the stairs, not seeing an end in sight.

"We're almost there," Naruto said, making another small series of hand signs, and once more hitting his open hand against the hard stone, "calm down."

"I am calm," he retorted with a glare. Yet his reaction was stunned as another passageway opened to their left, revealing a long hallway.

Following Naruto through the second hidden passageway and throwing a glance over his shoulder when the entrance re-sealed itself, Sasuke's attention was brought to the opposite end of the hallway. He could hear the low hum of voices, and as they approached the brightly lit end of the hallway Sasuke took note of the multiple voices.

As they walked by one particular doorway, Sasuke's eye wandered into it. Yet before his eyes could focus on one single thing, a small voice called to him.

"Dad!"

Hearing the child's voice, his head turned toward her, as if by an old habit. She sat grinning at him from a long couch, waving her tiny arms toward him. Slowing to a stop, Sasuke stood hesitantly in the doorway, observing the two other occupants of the room. Sitting on the couch by her side was Hinata, and in her lap was the small boy he'd seen the night before.

"Come here! Look at what Kenji can do!"

Sasuke almost jumped as Naruto put his hand on his back and slowly pushed him into the room. Glaring at his old teammate, Naruto only grinned widely before walking around him and toward his wife.

"Look Kenji," Katahana spoke to the toddler, "it's your dad _and_ my dad!" She said pointing from Naruto to Sasuke.

"Dad!" the little boy exclaimed, standing himself up on the couch, bouncing up and down. "Dad dad dad!" Naruto laughed, walking up to the boy and picking him up. Throwing the boy lightly into the air and catching him, the boy let out a shrill laugh, before hugging the blonde man's head, his tiny arms hardly wrapping all the way around.

"Hana play," the boy said, tapping a small hand against Naruto's cheek. "Hana play!"

"Hana's playing with you, huh? Did you miss her?"

The little boy nodded his head, still giggling, "Miss Hana. Hana play!"

Watching Naruto play with his child in awe, Sasuke hardly noticed when Katahana walked over to him. It wasn't until her small hand wrapped around a couple of his fingers when he looked down at her. She wasn't looking at him though; instead she was watching Naruto play with his son.

"I was trying to teach him how to whistle," she said to the blonde man. "But he's not very good at it."

Naruto laughed, "I can believe that. Maybe you can try teaching him once he's a little older? Why don't you try teaching him something simpler? Like… uh…"

"How to throw a kunai?"

Sasuke had to repress a laugh, Naruto's eyes widened, and Hinata gave him a reproachful look. "Definitely not that," Hinata said, "I was thinking more along the lines of teaching him his colors. Or how to count to a certain number."

"Yeah but that's _boring,_"she said in a whiny voice. "Naruto-san taught me how when I was little like him!"

Naruto winced as his wife glared at him once more. "Yes but do you remember how much trouble he got in?" She stood and retrieved the pale-eyed boy from his father's arms. "Your mother was not happy."

Katahana shrugged. "I just remember her yelling a little."

"Yeah," Naruto laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "a little."

"Speaking of Mom," Katahana said quietly, hand still gripping Sasuke's fingers, "did you guys figure out when you're going to get her?"

Sasuke and Naruto shared a quick glance, but Hinata was the one who approached her. "We're going to figure that out right now actually," she said smiling at the girl. "You and Kenji are going to play a little more in here and we're all going to go across the hall and come up with a plan."

"Okay," Katahana said, smiling up at the dark-haired woman. "Make it the best plan ever!"

Hinata laughed softly and placed Kenji on the ground, watching him toddle back over toward the couch. "We'll do our best," she vowed.

"Who's going to stay in here with them?" Sasuke asked. Sure, he wasn't very good with kids, and he didn't know the first thing about parenting, but he was pretty sure that leaving a 7-year-old and a toddler in the same room together unsupervised wasn't a good idea.

"That would be me."

"Kaka-san!" Katahana suddenly released her grip on Sasuke's fingers and ran toward the doorway. Sasuke turned and watched as she jumped, running full speed, directly into the arms of Hatake Kakashi. "I've missed you so much!"

The masked man looked down at the child in his arms and gave her a tight hug. "I've missed you too, kiddo," his cheeks lifted in a smile.

Sasuke did not know why, but seeing his daughter's sudden display of affection toward his old sensei made his stomach churn. A sour feeling overtook him and he couldn't help the glare that etched itself on his face.

"I need to tell you something _amazing_!" she said, wriggling herself down and out of his grip. Sasuke watched as she grabbed Kakashi's hand in the same way she'd held his, and the feeling in his stomach intensified. "This," she said, pulling the silver-haired man farther into the room, "is my dad!"

"Hello Sasuke," Kakashi said, smiling under his mask, "it's been a long time." The older man stood before Sasuke, studying him with a careful eye.

The Uchiha didn't reply, instead he stared back at the man with a blank expression. Kakashi had certainly started to look his age. The lines around his eye which had been faint years before were now more prominent, the stress of everyday life starting to show through his features. Doing math quickly in his head, Sasuke estimated that his old sensei had to be almost 40.

"He's an Uchiha," the small girl said to the masked man with a proud look. "Just like I am!"

"I know," he said, patting her head lightly, "the family resemblance is startling."

"Did you draw the short stick?" Naruto joked as he approached his old teacher. "Or did you lose a bet?"

"Oh no. This is all voluntary," he insisted. "You all can just fill me in when the meeting is over. In the meantime, I'll keep Konoha's deadly duo company."

Katahana giggled at the nickname given to her and Kenji, and stepped in front of Sasuke, looking up at him with a smile. "Are you going to help them bring back Mom?"

Damnit. Sasuke held the child's eyes, not wanting to look around at the other occupants of the room. He could almost feel all of their eyes staring at him intensely, waiting for him to reply. Not only hadn't he thought this through, he'd tried going out of his way to avoid having to think about it. Now he just wanted to kick himself since he was being put on the spot.

Katahana looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. He didn't know when, but her hands had gripped his fingers again, holding them tightly in her grasp. It wasn't until she smiled at him, a small, gentle smile, where a whole in his heart almost ripped open.

The child may have looked like him in almost every way, but she had her mother's smile.

"Yes," he vowed in a low voice, paying attention to no one but the little girl before him. "I will."

She looked up at him for a long moment, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, before grinning widely and wrapping her arms around him. The small girl buried her face in the front of his cloak, squeezing her arms tightly. After a few seconds, Sasuke expected her to release him and then skip off to do something else, but when she did not move, he grew uneasy.

The second he realized what she was waiting for, he almost grew embarrassed. Suddenly, he didn't want anyone else in this room with him. He didn't want to share this moment with anyone else.

Ignoring the anxious feeling that threatened to overtake him, he kneeled down and wrapped both of his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug.

After holding onto her father for a few seconds more, she pulled away, smiled again, and walked back over to Kakashi. As Sasuke straightened back up, he watched as his daughter grabbed the silver-haired man by the sleeve and dragged him across the room.

"While you guys are doing adult-stuff, Kenji and I are going to have fun with Kaka-san," she said matter-of-factly. Sasuke watched as she forcefully pulled Kakashi down until he was sitting on the couch and then stood before him, leaning close to his face, studying him.

Sasuke could almost see the man start to sweat as he looked at the two children in front of him with apprehension.

Naruto let out another laugh. "We'll leave you to it then. Katahana," she looked up at him, "you're in charge," he said with a sly grin, winking at Kakashi.

As Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke left the room, Hinata turned to her husband. "Do you really think that was a good idea?"

Naruto shrugged innocently, "Hey, I didn't do anything."

"Putting her in charge? She's going to take that very seriously." Her worried words only cause Naruto to let out another laugh.

Sasuke could only assume that they didn't envy Kakashi's position one bit.

Following the two other ninja, they walked only a short distance before turning into another doorway. Sasuke hesitated at the entrance before slowly stepping inside the room. Surveying his surroundings, he sighed.

A multitude of his ex-comrades as well as a couple ninja he'd never seen before, sat around the room. Couches and tables and chairs filled the room at every end, most of them occupied, and filled with ninja who were engaged in casual conversation.

It was a strange sight for him. The last time he'd seen most of these people gathered together was right before the last battle of the war had started. They'd all been younger then, their faces dirtied and scared, not knowing whether this would be their last day among the living.

For many ninja, it had been.

Upon entering the room, more and more people noted their entrance, quickly ending their conversations and sitting in silence. Sasuke didn't like the amount of eyes that were trained on him. Ignoring everyone, he followed Naruto and only stopped when the Hokage turned toward the rest of the ninja and started speaking.

"Alright," he clapped his hands together in front of him, rubbing his palms against the other, "time to get this show on the road."

"Now," Naruto turned toward Sasuke, "before we do anything else, we need to learn a few things here." His words were directed at the Uchiha. "I need you to tell us how you found Katahana, where you found her, and what happened after that, leading up until you guys arrived here."

"All of it?" he raised an eyebrow.

Naruto nodded, "Everything that you can tell us."

Sasuke's eyes quickly scanned the room once more, taking in the faces staring back at him. Some of them glared at him, most likely not too excited over his reappearance in Konoha after so long. Others looked at him curiously through narrowed eyes, eager to hear what he had to say.

"A few days before I took her in, she'd been wandering around the streets." Sasuke faced Naruto as he spoke, choosing to ignore everyone else in the room. "I figured she was another orphaned street child, so I didn't pay much attention to her," Sasuke shrugged. "After I caught her digging through my trash she started following me around." He narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "She later told me that she trusted me because I didn't know who she was."

"Sakura had been telling her to avoid any people who paid any attention to her for more than a few seconds," Ino said, chiming in. "It started out more as an eye-contact thing—not to stare at anyone who stared back. They didn't want to risk being found."

Sasuke nodded as he listened, "After I took her in, she told me that she knew I wouldn't kill her." He ignored the mocking sound the Inuzuka made, standing at the far side of the room, arms crossed. "She told me that I would've done it already if I wanted to."

"When did you find out who she was?" Another voice asked. Glancing behind him, Sasuke noted Shikamaru leaning against the wall by the doorway.

"She wouldn't tell me anything," he admitted. "She wouldn't answer a single one of my questions. All I knew was her name and age. But after a little while she started to let some things slip."

"Like?" Shikamaru said, urging him on.

"Well, for any child to mention the Kazekage and the Hokage, _by name_, in casual conversation, seems a little odd. Besides that, all I knew was that her mother was a ninja and that there were people after her."

"What about Sakura?" Another ninja spoke up. Sasuke recognized the voice as Rock Lee's. The man's question was not directed at him, but at Naruto. "Have we found out any further information about what happened?" He asked, worried.

Naruto frowned, letting out a long breath. "We tried talking to Katahana about it, to try and see what she could tell us, but when we asked her, she broke down and got a bit hysterical."

"I know we need to give the child some time," a ninja who Sasuke did not know spoke up next, "but we also need to gather as much information as possible. And _soon_."

"I'm aware of that," Naruto said, agreeing with the light-haired man. "But we also need to take Hana's emotional well-being into consideration."

"You can't just expect a 7-year-old to tell you every little detail about a traumatic event like that," Ino said, snapping at the young nameless ninja. "We need to give a couple more days. At least wait until she's settled down a little."

Naruto shot the blonde woman a sad smile, understanding the root of her frustration. "We'll try again tomorrow night, but until then we'll leave her out of this," he offered, trying to appease both sides of the argument. He turned back toward Sasuke, nodding at him, waiting for him to continue.

"A few nights back, a few men broke into my apartment and attempted to abduct her," he paused, not wanting to go into too much detail, "I took care of them but then a man appeared in the window and killed both men before I could get much information out of them."

"What did he look like?" Shikamaru asked, leaning forward a bit, suddenly on alert for some reason.

"I didn't see his face, he was wearing a green mask—" Sasuke paused as multiple ninja reacted; some swore, others let out a gasp or an exasperated noise of some sort.

"Damn," Naruto muttered under his breath. "What happened afterward?"

"Nothing really," Sasuke said slowly, still observing the occupants of the room, and their respective reactions to his information, "he looked at us and then disappeared." He raised an eyebrow, "Am I to assume that this guy is important?"

"We stayed in close contact with Sakura over the course of the past few months. And in most of her messages, she reported a green-masked man following them. She never reported any sort of violent behavior from him toward them, but she was always worrying about it." The Hokage ran a hand down his tired face. "She tried to lose him several times, using multiple attempts to shake him off their trail, but nothing ever worked."

He sighed, pausing for a moment. "In her last message, she told about how he'd addressed her for the first time. He apologized for something that he said would 'happen soon enough' and he wished her a good night, telling her that she 'should enjoy her last few sunrises'."

The Uchiha couldn't ignore the sudden fury he felt at hearing this information. "How much longer after the threat was it?"

"We don't know the exact day is happened on, but it was between 2 and 4 days after he contacted her last. She was supposed to have arrived in Sunagakure five days after she contacted us last."

"We're assuming that they were attacked somewhere between the Hidden Rain and the Hidden Stone villages," Shikamaru approached the table in front of Naruto, smoothing out a large map that lay before them. Sasuke moved to stand next to the strategist, watching where the man circled an area with red ink.

"I'm guessing you've already searched there?" Sasuke asked, studying the map.

"Thoroughly," Shikamaru frowned.

Thinking back to earlier in the week, Sasuke recalled the man's words.

"_To be honest, I'm just_ _running out of places to look_."

"We need a new plan of action," Kiba said, making his presence known as he approached the table. "We need to get the information from Katahana, regroup, and send out another team."

"And we will," Ino glared at him from her side of the table, "once Katahana can talk to us without freaking out."

"Look, I'm just trying to make it so that we're not wasting any more time," he said defensively, throwing his arms up in over-exaggerated exasperation. "If you guys really want to find Sakura, then we need to act quickly."

"I know that time is important here, Kiba," Naruto said, addressing his comrade sternly, "but we also need to figure out what to do with Hana."

That not only silenced Kiba, but the rest of the room as well. Confused, Sasuke turned toward Naruto, "What needs to be figured out?"

"Once these people find out that she's here—which they will soon—they'll come by the dozens." Naruto shook his head, a frustrated, angry look on his face. "One of the main reasons Sakura opted to leave with Hana initially was because civilians were starting to die. We'd get multiple attacks each night, all because people were trying to find her. Of course, before we let Sakura even consider leaving, we tried setting up a plan of action. She was to travel to a few designated villages—where we had a safe house waiting in each one—and from there they'd lie low for a week, and then move to the next."

"As soon as they were discovered in one town, they'd have to move quickly or else they'd get attacked," Ino's expression was as grim as Naruto's.

"Eventually, after sending messages back and forth for a couple weeks, Gaara offered to help them. But, as you know, on their way…"

"They were attacked." Sasuke finished the statement for him. "Katahana had mentioned that the two of them had been split up during the attack, but she never told me how she escaped without being detected."

"That's one of the main things we're curious about, too."

"You guys do realize the only way to find it out is to actually talk to the kid?" Kiba chimed in once more, growing impatient. "I talked to her for hours earlier and she seemed fine. Let me talk to her," he offered, "I'm sure she'll tell me some things."

"Kiba, I don't think that's a good idea," Hinata rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to deter him.

"If no one else is going to take charge with this," he said stubbornly, brushing her off, "then I will." He turned toward the door and began walking.

Anger filling up in his chest as he watched the interaction between his old comrades before him, Sasuke glowered at the ninja's retreating form. Naruto and Ino had both informed all of them about Katahana's sensitivity when it came to the topic of Sakura. Not only was he disregarding all reasonable thought, but also the wishes of the damn Hokage.

Without even thinking, Sasuke moved, in the blink of an eye, to stand directly before the Inuzuka, blocking his path.

Stopping at the sudden appearance of the Uchiha before him, Kiba scowled as he halted his movement. "Oh please," he scoffed, "what?"

Sasuke didn't reply. Hell, he didn't even need to. The glare he was shooting at the man should have been a clear enough message: _back off_.

"What? Nothing?" he scoffed, "You're wasting our time, Uchiha." As he made a move to step around the ex-Leaf nin, he found Sasuke moving to stand before him again, still standing between himself and the door. "You've gotta be kidding," he laughed. "You're not seriously doing this right now? _You_ of all people?"

"You're not going anywhere near her," Sasuke spoke in a low voice, too quiet for most of the occupants in the room to hear.

"Wow. Look at you," he laughed, "father of the year."

"Kiba," standing a few feet behind him, the Akimichi man, Choji warned his fellow Leaf-nin. "Come on," he urged, a nervous look on his face.

"I will not repeat myself," Sasuke advised, staring icily back at the man, not breaking eye contact.

"What? You wanna talk to her instead? She knows who I am," Kiba sneered, looking Sasuke up and down with a look of distaste, "You're practically a stranger to her." He let out a short laugh, "You're hardly her father." Turning again and stepping around Sasuke, he barely took two steps before he was stopped again. Appearing in front of him once more, Sasuke sported a red glare, grabbing Kiba roughly by the shoulder.

Over the course of a few seconds, the room erupted in movement and was stilled a moment later.

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke shot a deadly look at the Nara man, who was currently binding him with his shadow possession jutsu. Standing directly before him, and in between the two men was Naruto, glowing a bright yellow, each of his hands grabbing the fabric of either man's shirt.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Kiba growled as he was held immobile by Choji's powerful grip. "You must be crazy Naruto, to let this guy back into the damn Village."

"_Quiet_," Naruto's voice held such power with it, even Sasuke found himself dropping his glare and focusing on the Hokage that stood before him. This man was a far cry from the idiotic buffoon that Sasuke had been teamed up with as a child.

"I don't care what you guys may think of each other; I don't care what _any_ of you think about one another," he addressed the whole room, "but if we don't work together, then nothing will get done."

"He's a criminal," Kiba snapped, "and you're just going to let him walk around here as if he's one of us?"

"Sasuke's charges were dropped years ago," Shikamaru was more annoyed with the current situation than angered.

"Charges or no charges. That doesn't matter. He's a murderer, and a traitor to the village. And you're going to let him hang around Katahana? I don't give a damn if he's her father. That's not a good idea!"

"Kiba! Enough," Naruto's voice overpowered Kiba's. Glaring down on the ninja, he spoke slowly and loudly. "He is her father, so whether he wants a relationship with her or not is none of our concern. Nothing you say will change that. Now, if you want to remain a part of this mission, you better cooperate." He then turned to Sasuke, "That goes for you too, Sasuke. If you're going to help, you need to get along with everyone else—now I don't mean you have to be friends with everyone, but you need to control yourself."

Sasuke glared, "I have plenty of self-control," he snapped.

"Wait, he's part of the mission, too?" The Inuzuka yelled in disbelief.

"Yes," Naruto sternly addressed Kiba once more. "And I'm going to assume that it won't be a problem. Cause if it is, then I'll just have to assemble a new team." He glared at each man before taking a deep breath and letting his chakra dissipate. "Now, tomorrow we're going to meet here again, at the same time. Then we'll go over our next step: heading out to search for Sakura once more."

As Naruto stepped away from the two, both Shikamaru as well as Chouji released their holds on the two feuding men. The two did not stop glaring at one another, although they did stand still.

"Hopefully we'll have a group put together and sent out within the next few days. We have no time to waste." With a wave of his hand, Naruto lazily dismissed the ninja, rubbing a spot next to his right temple, as if trying to ward off a headache.

Turning on his heel, Sasuke headed straight for the door, the last thing he heard before he entered the hallway being Kiba making another snarky comment.

"This is a bad idea," he mumbled to someone behind Sasuke's back.

Working to keep his temper under control he stopped in the doorway of the room he had left only a little while before. And upon looking into the room, his anger immediately faded away.

"Hi dad!"

The dark haired girl currently stood on the couch, waving at him eagerly. In front of her, sitting on the floor, Kakashi sat, leaning his back against the couch. In his lap sat the toddler who was currently in a hysterical fit of laughter.

Sasuke stared at Kakashi with a blank look on his face. His silence not due to his quiet demeanor, but due to the fact that he was literally at a loss for words.

"We gave Kakashi-san a make-over!" Katahana giggled, covering her mouth.

"Kaka pretty!" The toddler screeched, laughing loudly. Sasuke winced at the noise; that was Naruto's son alright.

Kakashi sat, looking up at Sasuke with tired distress. His hair was tied up in every direction with bows, ties, and various ribbons.

"You look ridiculous."

"Shh!" Katahana held a finger in front of her lips, shushing her father. "It's okay Kaka-san, you look wonderful I promise!" she said, trying hard to contain herself as she spoke to the man. "My dad is just jealous that he doesn't look as nice as you do."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked into the room, approaching the couch.

Kakashi looked up at him, "I take it the meeting is over?"

He nodded once, crossing his arms across the chest and raising his eyebrow at his old sensei. He may not have been on good terms with the man, but he had to hand it to him: he had an incredible amount of patience to sit by as the two children tormented him.

"Seems a little early?"

"There was," Sasuke paused, breaking eye contact, "an… issue." He looked at Katahana, who was currently adjusting a bow in Kakashi's silver hair.

"Hm. Well I'm assuming it wasn't too much of a problem."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because you don't look like you've been in a fight."

"Looks can be deceiving," Sasuke muttered under his breath, causing Kakashi to sigh. As he felt a tugging on his arm, he turned his attention back towards Katahana, who was gripping his hand tightly.

"Sit," she insisted, a stern look on her face, pulling once more. Grimacing, not enjoying having his arm yanked on, Sasuke gave in, sitting himself on the couch beside her. "Do you want a make-over, too?"

Sasuke almost stood right back up as she asked him, but instead he held his position. "No." He couldn't see it, but he could hear the sound of Kakashi chuckling to himself. He glared at the back of the ninja's silver head. "Why are you laughing?"

The older man shook his head, a loose tie falling from his hair to the ground beside him. "It's nothing."

"What's going on in here?" Naruto asked from the doorway. But he'd taken no more than two steps into the room before he paused, stared at Kakashi with a blank expression, and erupted in howling laughter. Hinata walked in the room behind him, glancing at Kakashi and letting out her own small laugh.

"I'll take him off your hands now," she said to the man as she leaned down to lift the child out of his lap. "Thank you," she gave him an apologetic smile as she glanced at the state his hair was in.

"Don't mention it," he closed his eye, smiling up at the young woman.

"You," Naruto struggled to speak through his laughter, "look _ridiculous_!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at Kakashi as he tried to remain upright.

"Yes, yes, Sasuke already told me."

"Oy, are you getting your hair done next?" Naruto asked Sasuke, still laughing.

"Definitely not."

"I can do your hair too, if you'd like Naruto-san," Katahana said, glancing over to him, a ribbon in each of her hands.

He held his hands up in front of him, his laughter turning nervous. "No thanks, uh, maybe next time."

"I'll remember that!" she said, putting her hands on her hips and sitting back down on the couch beside Sasuke. Letting out a long yawn, the girl stretched her arms over her head. "I'm tired."

"It's almost bedtime," Hinata said softly, walking over to the couch and extending her free hand. The dark-haired child rubbed an eye with a tiny fist before grabbing a hold of the Hyuuga's hand. They had just begun to make their way towards the door when Ino appeared in the doorway.

"Hey there," she said as she leaned against the doorframe, smiling down at the child, "you ready to go?" The little girl nodded as she let go of Hinata's hand and instead grabbed hold of Ino's. "I'll take her back," the Yamanaka said to the few occupants of the room. Her eyes landed on Sasuke's sitting form, staring at him for a quick second. She then looked back down at the child, "Say goodnight."

Katahana turned back into the room, waving a tired hand at everyone, "Goodnight," she said tiredly. The blonde woman then led the sleepy child out of the room and into the hall.

"Wait, I forgot something!" They heard her urgent statement a few seconds later from down the hall. As quickly as she'd left, she ran back into the room and right up to the couch.

Sasuke watched as the child stood before him, her hands gripping the hem of her shirt nervously. Before he could ask her what she wanted, she sprung herself forward, wrapping her tiny arms around his torso. Once again left speechless and stunned from another one of her sudden embraces, he tried to—yet again—ignore the stares from the other occupants of the room as he anxiously returned her hug.

"Goodnight dad," he heard her mumble into his shirt. Then without another word, she scurried back out into the hallway, to a shocked and waiting Ino.

"I'm going to head home too," Hinata said, sensing the awkward tension in the room. She walked up to Naruto, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "I'll see you later." And with a smile directed toward the other two men in the room, she turned and left as well, the young boy already starting to fall asleep in her arms.

Sasuke couldn't stop staring at his hands before him, resting in his lap, palms facing upward. He was not an emotional person. He did not like displays of affection. He could count the amount of people he'd ever hugged in his entire life on one hand. It was rare when something took him so off-guard where he didn't know how to immediately respond. And to top it all off, he wasn't particularly a fan of children either.

But when it came to this small girl—his _daughter_—he didn't know how to feel. He wasn't even sure if he was responding correctly to the child's questions and embraces. An uneasy feeling began to settle in his stomach; he had no idea how to handle emotional situations, let alone be the father to a seemingly over-affectionate girl.

"I'm assuming she's going back to the hospital?" Kakashi's question brought Sasuke out of his thoughts. The older man backed himself up off the floor and onto the couch beside Sasuke, lazily pulling bows and ribbons out of his hair.

Naruto grimaced, "She'll have to stay there until we figure out what to do next. We already have all the hospital staff keeping a tight lip about all this. We can't have the village know that she's back here."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, "So we need to find somewhere that she won't be found for her to stay."

"That's just one of the things we're trying to figure out."

"Can't you guys just keep her here, in the village?" Sasuke asked, chiming into the conversation. "I can't think of anywhere safer for her to be."

"Trust me Sasuke, I want to. I mean I really, _really_ want to." Naruto ran a hand through his blonde, messy hair. "I want nothing more than to keep her here where I can personally look after her. But," he sighed, "as Hokage I need to do what's best for the village. And with her being here, once people find out she's back, the village will start being attacked again."

"So you're just going to send her off?" Sasuke asked, almost angry.

"The Kazekage has already agreed to help," Kakashi said, trying to placate the Uchiha. "Sending her to Suna is our best bet at this point."

"The real challenge is simply getting her there, undetected." Naruto walked over to a table on the side of the room, pulling a chair out and sitting in it, facing the two with a thoughtful expression on his face. "In the next couple days we need to assemble a team to transport her there."

"Put me on that team," Sasuke demanded sternly.

"That wouldn't be wise," Kakashi spoke apologetically. "You were the last person that any of those men spotted her with. Putting you both together while travelling will just make it that much easier to be identified and tracked down."

"I thought you were helping us with locating Sakura?" Naruto inquired earnestly. At this statement Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, seemingly surprised at the revelation.

"I am," Sasuke growled.

"You can't do both, Sasuke," Naruto smiled at him. "Look, we're going to make sure we get a good, solid team put together to transport her. And how about this: I won't make any team official until you give your approval. Sound good?"

Rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, Sasuke knew that the offer was the best one he would get. He nodded once, finally deciding to let Naruto handle the situation fully.

"So, Sasuke," Kakashi said, the tone in his voice now much more upbeat, "what've you been up to for the past few years?"

The dark-haired man glared at his old teacher. "Nothing," he spoke bluntly. He wasn't lying either.

"Now that you know about her, what do you think of Katahana?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat that always decided to appear when he thought of the child, he thought to himself quietly. "She's very… affectionate." He said, finally finding the right words. "Too trusting," he added, his voice concerned.

"She's a lot like Sakura," Kakashi chuckled lightly. "She always has good intentions, and she's very sweet, but also extremely naïve."

"Is she like that with everyone?"

"No, not really. Only if she feels comfortable around them."

Sasuke tried to ignore the vague sense of gratification he felt at those words. That meant that he was one of the few people she was comfortable around. That made him special to her.

"She's very smart," Naruto added, "especially for her age. And she can throw a kunai with unbelievable accuracy," he grinned widely.

"She wants to be a ninja. I think Sakura was finally going to put her in the academy this fall."

Naruto laughed, "Yeah after I convinced her!" Sasuke looked at the two men, slightly confused. Noting his expression, Naruto explained. "Sakura used to be completely against Katahana ever becoming a ninja."

"What? Why?"

"Sakura has always been very overprotective of her. Always insisting that it was 'too dangerous' for her."

"Naruto called her a hypocrite once and she broke his nose," Kakashi mused, grinning beneath his mask.

"Yeah whatever," Naruto glared at Kakashi. "She really likes you a lot though, Sasuke. I've never seen her attach herself to someone so quickly."

"It's…" he trailed off, not able to find the right words to fit his situation.

"Strange, huh?" Naruto grinned. "It's alright, I'm sure you'll adjust eventually. She's a pretty independent kid so she's really easy to take care of."

Trying to avoid the thought of potentially taking care of the girl as her father, Sasuke stood up, prepared to separate himself from the entire conversation. Walking towards the door, he paused, realizing he didn't know how to get out of these rock-enclosed series of rooms. Cursing himself mentally, he waited by the doorway, not saying anything.

Kakashi and Naruto shared a look before they both stood up as well. "I'll take you back," he said to Sasuke, answering his unspoken question. "We're scheduled to meet back here tomorrow. You don't necessarily have to come along, but if you want to—"

"I'm going."

"Alright," Naruto said, a little put off by Sasuke's bitter tone.

The former Team 7 members said nothing more to each other before they all departed from the room, and ultimately from the mountainside base as well. After arriving back at the hospital, Sasuke wordlessly walked away from Naruto, escorting himself inside and finding his own way back to his room.

Closing the door behind him, he turned off the light, kicked off his shoes, threw the heavy cloak on a table in the corner of the room, and unceremoniously climbed into the bed.

This had definitely not been an ordinary week for Sasuke. He smirked dryly to himself, face down in his pillow, as he thought about it. The one time—the _only_ time—he ever decided to take in a street kid, it ended up being his missing daughter who he'd never once known about. But he couldn't even bring himself to be surprised at the circumstances surrounding these events.

He had been thinking about how boring his life had become these past few years, and he'd been secretly hoping for something to appear and make his life just a little bit more interesting, a bit more exciting.

Maybe he should have specified in these thoughts just _how_ _much _excitement he was really looking for…

* * *

**A/N**: This is the longest chapter so far. I hope you're enjoying the reappearance of some more characters. And just for the record: I don't dislike Kiba. I actually really like his character. But if I had to imagine anyone antagonizing Sasuke, for some reason I imagined Kiba being the one to do it.

About the last Naruto chapter (*possible spoilers*): So then. Madara is apparently fucking terrifying. And I'm very worried about my poor baby Kakashi. We need them to all get to the battlefield and reunite; and soon, before I have a heart attack due to stress.

Anyways, I'm very happy (and flattered) with the feedback I got from the last couple of chapters. I will admit, it's a pretty nice feeling to see so many of you enjoying it. I also appreciate the criticism, too! And it's awesome to see so many of you make predictions about the future chapters; one of you did get something right, very surprisingly! (Now, I'm not going to give away who made the correct guess, or what it was, but kudos anyways.)

Let me know what you think. I'll update again sometime after the next Naruto chapter is posted. Fingers crossed for a battlefield reunion!


	12. Chapter 12

After arriving back at the hospital the next night, Sasuke did not return immediately to his room. Instead he remained on the roof, looking out on the village around him, taking in the limited view that he had.

"How does it feel?" He hadn't even noticed when Naruto walked up beside him. "To be back?"

Sasuke shrugged, breathing in the cool summer night's air. "Everything is different."

"That'll happen with a place when you're gone for over a decade."

Sasuke let out a long breath. He couldn't argue with that.

In the middle of the night, Konoha couldn't have been more still. It was almost eerie, Sasuke thought, looking out upon the empty streets and at the closed shutters. Everyone was either at home, or asleep.

He hadn't slept peacefully in this village since he was a small child. Even though he was much older now, and the ghosts of his past were all but buried deep beneath the surface of his mind, he found himself unable to rest. He tried attributing it to the sudden appearance of his daughter, but he knew that it wasn't the full reason.

"She never stopped loving you."

Sasuke remained unmoving, still leaning over the edge of the roof, peering out into the distance at some unknown point. He'd known that this conversation would happen, and if he was being honest with himself—and with Naruto—he wasn't ready for it.

"Look," Naruto sighed, "I don't know what happened between the two of you during those last couple of weeks on the base all those years ago—well, I mean I have an _idea_ of what happened. Since you two have a daughter and all…" Naruto shuddered visibly. "But whatever happened changed her completely."

Sasuke clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to keep himself composed and emotionally separated from the conversation. "I don't want to hear this right now, Naruto." They had other things to worry about. Things that were more important than past relationships.

"I'm not saying it was a bad change," Naruto said, trying to get his words in before Sasuke stormed off, "I'm just letting you know, she's different now."

"Different how?" Sasuke folded his arms across his chest. He still refused to even glance in the young Hokage's direction, instead opting to gaze out into the distance some more.

"She's… kinder now. Not that she wasn't before," he laughed once, "but she doesn't get worked up over things as easily. She's much more easy going."

"Says the man who got punched in the face for criticizing her."

The blonde laughed nervously, "I kind of deserved that. She doesn't do things like that often anymore, if at all. I know for a fact that the only reason she did that was because she thought I was going to endanger Katahana by teaching her a jutsu or two. Like I said before, Sakura's _very_ overprotective of her."

"Well, she's being endangered right now, because of the fact that I'm her damn father," Sasuke spat bitterly. "She _needs_ to learn some things to protect herself."

"Don't worry," Naruto assured quickly, "Like I said, I got Sakura to change her mind. It was actually just before the attacks began when I started teaching her a few tricks." He grinned at Sasuke, "She's better at making shadow clones than most chunin I know."

Sasuke finally turned to face Naruto, a slight look of surprise on his face. "She's 7, right?"

Naruto's grin only got wider as he nodded, pleased that Sasuke was finally looking him in the eye. "She's got talent, Sasuke. You should be proud."

Looking away, the Uchiha tried to distract himself from the emotions he was trying so hard to ignore. He couldn't avoid these types of conversations with his old comrades, but he could avoid confronting his own emotions about it all.

He'd deal with it when he needed to. Right now, he had other things to worry about—feelings and emotions could wait.

He did allow himself one small smile, doing as Naruto said, and taking some pride in his child. Meeting Naruto's eyes again, he looked away once more. "Thank you."

Before Naruto could respond, the sound of a rapidly approaching body put the two ninja on alert.

"Naruto!" The voice called as the incoming ninja jumped from a neighboring roof to the roof of the hospital. "Naruto!" A boy, no older than 18, ran up to the Hokage with a paper in his hands and smile on his face. Sasuke couldn't help but slightly recognize the boy. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath he held up a hand, signaling them to wait a moment.

"What? What's going on?"

"We," he paused, panting, "we got a message," he handed the slightly crumbled paper over to Naruto, "It's," he inhaled deeply, "it's from Tenten."

"What? Is everything alright?"

"No, no everything is fine," the boy grinned widely, a blue scarf hanging from his shoulders, "she was travelling back home with her genin from a mission when she overheard a couple of men talking. They were saying—or complaining, I guess—about how they had to help a couple of women travel like twenty or thirty miles or something like that. I guess Tenten was just mindlessly listening in but then they mentioned a 'pink haired woman'."

Eyes widening, Naruto lifted the paper, studying it closely as he read.

"When she heard that she immediately stopped them and asked them what they were talking about, and it took her a couple minutes to get them to tell her. But," he took another deep breath, still grinning, "they were definitely talking about Sakura."

Reading the entire message twice, eyes widening as he did so, he looked over the sheet at the boy with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"Boss," he let out an excited laugh, "we have a good idea where Sakura might be."

Naruto's expression was still shocked as he gaped from the message, to the young man, and back to the message again. "I need you to alert Shikamaru and tell him everything you just told me," he said suddenly, snapping out of his haze, "and give him this, too."

"He already knows, Boss. He's the one who sent me here to find you! And he's already getting the team together so he's got it all covered."

"Well, lead the way Konohamaru!" Naruto grinned finally, glancing over to Sasuke. "You coming?"

The Uchiha, who had been listening carefully to the two's conversation, nodded once, a determined look overtaking the shocked one he'd held on his face. "Let's go."

The three ninja arrived at the large dome-shaped building, quickly making their way through the doors and down a long hallway. As they turned a corner, Nara Shikamaru stood at the end of another hallway, currently giving instructions to some ninja. Noting their arrival, he quickly dismissed the Leaf-nin and turned toward them.

"On the northern border of Wind Country, that's where she was last seen," he said quickly, not bothering with pleasantries or to wait for them to question him. He already knew what needed to be said. "You get the final decision with this, but I strongly advise we move the departure time from two days from now, to this morning." He gave Naruto a severe look, "This is the only lead we've gotten in weeks. We can't let this go."

The blonde Hokage nodded, completely in agreement with the strategist. "Alert both teams," he said, walking past the Nara man and into his office, "We can have them travel together until they reach the borders of the Fire and Wind countries. From there, team one will take the route we've given them to Suna, and team two will go North, toward the northern border of Wind country."

"I'll be downstairs," Shikamaru said, "as people arrive send them down to my office. I'll start debriefing them when they get there." Turning toward Sasuke he raised an eyebrow, "You ready?"

The dark-haired man looked toward the Hokage, still shocked at the sudden revelation. The two locked eyes for a long moment, as if silently exchanging words.

Naruto frowned slightly, clenching a fist, _Bring her home._

Sasuke took in a steady breath and nodded toward him, _I will_.

Turning and facing the Nara man, Sasuke followed closely behind him as they made their way towards the stairwell.

There would be no time for him to sleep tonight. Even if he had the opportunity to, he would never be able to calm his mind and to bring his body to a peaceful state. He was too tense, too anxious. They were only a couple days away from finding Sakura—hopefully alive and well.

No, of course he couldn't sleep. There was no time to waste.

* * *

Just before the sun rose over the horizon, a group of ninja stood by the entrance to the village, preparing themselves for their journey.

Sasuke stood at the edge of the group, refusing to acknowledge or converse with any of his 'teammates'. Instead he chose to stare out into the forest, watching the morning fog disperse through the trees. To his left stood the other three members of their team. Nara Shikamaru was leaning against the side of the large gate, talking quietly to the other two members of the team.

Sasuke would never tell him, but he was glad that the man was a part of this team. Out of all the people that Sasuke knew back when he was a genin in the village, Shikamaru was one of the few people whose opinions and ideas he actually agreed with; to an extent that is. He respected the man though, appreciating his intellect and the fact that he too annoying.

In front of the shadow jutsu user, was a small girl with dark brown hair and white eyes. He'd learned the night before that the Hyuuga was none other than Hinata's younger sister. He couldn't remember her name, but he wasn't one to ask, so he instead stood by, idly waiting for someone to address her.

Next to the Hyuuga was Rock Lee, who stood by restlessly looking into the village, waiting for the rest of the other team to arrive. Sasuke did not care for the man at all, but he didn't actively dislike him. He found him immensely annoying and only figured that he'd be able to tolerate him due to the fact that he was a damn good ninja.

The other team stood a few feet away from Sasuke's team, all of them seeming overly-anxious. The Uchiha could understand their nerves; it would seem that transporting Katahana from village to village was an extremely dangerous task. Trying to ignore the frustration that was festering inside him over the fact that he couldn't go with the child, he tried to come off as detached from the situation as possible.

The ex-Root member, Sai, stood still as he waited to depart with his team, a solemn expression on his face. Sasuke had only ever had one conversation with the man, if you could even count their first encounter as a 'conversation'. The first time they'd met was back when Sai, along with Naruto, Sakura, and the ANBU member whose name Sasuke couldn't remember, tried talking to him about 'bonds' and returning to the village.

But of course that only lead into a quick fight where Sasuke tried to kill almost all of them. He inwardly flinched as he recalled the memory, a sinking feeling making itself known in the pit of his stomach.

He knew nothing about the man other than his unique, and admittedly impressive, jutsu. Even now, he noted the large scroll strapped to the pale man's back.

Standing beside him was Ino, who was waiting impatiently—even going so far as to tap her foot, glaring out into the village. Beside her was Kiba, who leaned against his dog, talking to Ino in a low voice, sending Sasuke a glare every now and then.

Sasuke could only be grateful that the man wasn't on the same team as he was; although he wasn't happy about the fact that the Inuzuka got to travel with Katahana and he couldn't. He could only silently hope that the ninja would take all the anger and frustration that Sasuke was sure he felt towards him, and put it towards the mission.

Both teams currently stood by, waiting for the final two people to arrive so they'd be able to depart. Taking note of the sky lightening more and more with each passing minute, Sasuke knew that they'd be leaving dangerously close to sunrise, and wondered where the hell they could be.

But, fashionably late as always, the last member of the transport team arrived, toting a small girl in his arms, being followed by none other than Naruto himself. Kakashi held the tiny child, who was currently wrapped tightly in a small cloak, and threw an additional blanket over her as he halted his movements. With tired eyes the child lifted her head up off of his chest groggily, taking in her surroundings.

"It's so early," she mumbled, letting her head flop back down on Kakashi's chest. "I'm _tired._"

"I know," Naruto said quietly as he walked up to her, leaning toward her and offering her an apologetic smile. "But we're going to try and get you to Suna very soon."

"Can I sleep?" she whined in a tired voice, "I don't think I can run right now."

Naruto let out a soft laugh and lifted the hood back up over her head, "You can sleep all you'd like."

"Okay," she mumbled once more, grabbing onto the front of Kakashi's vest with one hand.

With their arrival, both of the teams gathered around the two men, readily waiting to depart. Naruto nodded once at Shikamaru, a serious yet somehow solemn expression on his face. "Alright, you guys know what to do. Travel west together until you start approaching the Fire Country border, then split up." He looked from Shikamaru to Kakashi, silently acknowledging the two team captains, "Because of the serious nature of these missions, I want you each to send a message back to Konoha twice a day. Once at sunrise and once at sunset."

"Remember," Shikamaru chimed in, addressing both teams, "don't engage anyone if approached. Don't start confrontation but always be prepared for it."

"Shika-san," Katahana called quietly from her place in Kakashi's arms, "are you going to find my mom?"

"Yes we are," he said, working hard to send a small smile her way. Sasuke could only see him struggling with the semi-comforting expression.

Even with all the information they'd received over the course of the past few hours, and even with all the hope it brought along, they were all still uneasy with their mission. It was evident on everyone's face; they didn't honestly know whether they'd be retrieving Sakura, or just her body.

"Where's my dad?" the girl asked, struggling to pull her large hood back and find her newly-introduced father. "Dad?"

Sasuke didn't honestly think he'd ever get used to hearing someone call him that. It sounded so foreign to his ears. Nevertheless, with heavy feet he responded, making his way over to Kakashi slowly. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice Kiba's glare and had to suppress the urge to flip off the man, instead trying to take at least some pride in the fact that Katahana had asked for _him._

The little girl looked up at his approaching form with tired eyes and grinned widely, despite her obvious exhaustion. "After you find mom, and after the bad guys leave me alone, I have lots of things to show you," she said, smiling almost shyly, halfway hiding her face in Kakashi's chest. "Like my room and my favorite tree and we can even go get food together and stuff like that if you want to."

Sasuke didn't know how to reply, so for a long moment he didn't. He did offer her some minor reassurance by giving her a slight half-smile, nodding once. Katahana seemed content with the reply and grinned widely once more before a yawn interrupted her mild excitement. "Wake me when it's time to eat," she mumbled, letting her heavy eyelids close once more as she rested against the elder jounin.

With a light chuckle, Naruto clapped Sasuke on the shoulder, catching the Uchiha off guard and earning him a swift glare. "Time to go you guys," he said, ignoring the man's glower.

"Are you going to be holding her like that the whole time?" Ino asked as Kakashi walked past her.

"Only until she wakes up and gets antsy," he said with quiet amusement.

"Sasuke," Naruto called, stopping the man as he too had begun to follow their old sensei. Turning to face his old friend for what very well could be the last time, he decided that he at least owed Naruto his attention. "Please do whatever it takes to find her," he said, finally allowing his anguish show slightly. The Hokage looked at him with such intense sadness, that even he felt a dull pain pinch at his stomach. "It not for any of us, then for Katahana. She loves Sakura more than anything in this entire world." Naruto let his eyes fall to the ground as he shook his head dejectedly, "It would destroy her if Sakura died."

He knew that what Naruto said was entirely true. Being a child thrown into a world where people attack and try and kill you and your family on a regular basis was sure to take an enormous toll. Sasuke was admittedly waiting very nervously for Katahana to finally snap and break down. Impressively enough, the girl was showing more perseverance than he was expecting out of the 7-year-old.

The death of Sakura would surely drive her into near insanity. Having your mother murdered due to the fact that crazed strangers wanted to get to you would no doubt place the seed of guilt into your mind. It would make her just as demented as the murder of his clan had made him.

With this thought, his resolve intensified considerably, locking eyes with Naruto. He would never allow his child to be subjected to the same pain that he'd been forced to endure. Just the thought of such a thing made his blood boil.

"I'll be back with both of them," he vowed, "I'll bring them back safe and sound or I'll die trying."

Naruto did not smile, give him any words of encouragement, or wish him luck; all the man did was reach forward and wrap Sasuke in an abrupt embrace. Not waiting for or even expecting Sasuke to return the hug, Naruto released him and nodded at him. He had Sasuke's word—it was all he needed to put his utmost trust in the former Leaf-nin.

"I'll see you all again soon," Naruto said to the entire group on ninja, allowing them to prepare themselves for their departure before uttering his last words of advice. "Be careful."

Under a minute later, eight ninja, one hound, and one child were all heading out of the village at top-speed, all of them with their thoughts focused on one thing: their mission.

It was a game of hide and seek in its own right. Hide the child. Find her mother. And once both tasks were completed, Sasuke had already given himself another mission to fulfill.

To find whoever was targeting his daughter, and to kill them.

And once Sasuke set his mind on something, it was damn near impossible to deter him from his objective. Everyone who'd ever known him knew that. His determination was difficult to halt.

Yet, that wasn't always a good thing.

* * *

**A/N**: No new chapter this week. Major bummer.

Hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think; everyone's predictions are my favorite thing to see.


	13. Chapter 13

The first time the ninja stopped was at mid-day. Thirst had become a bit too hard to ignore, and they chose to stop for a short amount of time, drink some water, and get a little food in their stomachs. Tensions ran high and no one was much for conversation at the present time.

Well.

No one except a certain 7-year-old.

She'd awoken fully a couple hours before, but had still remained in Kakashi's arms for the duration of their travelling. And after immediately waking, she'd tried to take off the cloak, complaining about the heat after being conscious for no more than 30 seconds.

It was an understandable complaint, Sasuke supposed, as the heavy summer heat was all but suffocating them in their own clothes. After Katahana had wriggled her way out of her cloak—quite a feat while still managing to keep on arm wrapped around Kakashi's neck as he moved—a few others did the same, not knowing why they hadn't done so sooner.

"Aren't you hot?"

Sasuke peered up at the girl from his spot on the ground. He sat off to the side, under the shade of a low-hanging tree, sharpening a couple of kunai. He'd been the only one so far who still wore his heavy cloak. After acknowledging her with a look, he continued his task.

"_Hello_?" she called a little too loudly, holding out the word much longer than necessary, tilting her head to the side as she watched Sasuke work.

"Hm?" he didn't lift his eyes. But he did notice her lean toward him slightly, her hands on her hips.

"Ewww," she giggled, pinching her nose with her fingers. "See? You smell 'cause you're all sweaty."

Sasuke faultered in his movements, almost slicing a finger open in the process. Frowning he looked up at the child who stood before him, grinning mischievously.

"You stink," she said once more, waving a hand in front of her nose exaggeratedly. "You should probably take that off." As she poked his shoulder with a pointed finger, he couldn't help but watch as one of his teammates stared in shocked, jaw dropped.

It was the taijustu expert, Rock Lee—he'd just finished packing his own cloak into his bag when he looked up and watched the child poke him.

Sasuke was about to glare at the man before he realized that he'd never seen the two interact before. In fact, most of the ninja surrounding him hadn't seen him speak to Katahana once. They were probably all paying close attention to the two—although none of them being very obvious about it (except for Lee that is).

He grimly wondered if they were afraid of something happening to her while in his presence. A few of them hadn't made it a secret that he still wasn't welcome. They still saw him as a criminal after all these years, but Sasuke couldn't be mad about that. He was the one who brought it all upon himself.

Revenge will do crazy things to a person.

"Dad," she called in a sing-song voice.

"I heard you the first time," he muttered, placing his kunai on the ground and shrugging his cloak off of his shoulders. By the time he'd stored it away securely in his pack, he looked up to see a canteen of water inches from his face. Tiny fingers held it out to him, waiting for him to take it.

"Here," she just about pushed it into his hands. Taking a seat next to him, Sasuke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before taking a few sips of water. He said nothing when she picked up his kunai; in fact he was even a little bit curious.

"I hear you're good with kunai," he said, gesturing to the weapon she now held in her hands.

She shrugged, "I'm okay."

"Show me."

Hopping up onto her feet, giddy at the request, she turned in a full circle, as if looking for something in the small opening in the woods the teams currently resided in. Then she threw the kunai to their right, lodging it into the trunk of a tree about 20 feet away.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. Well. It wasn't _that_ impressive.

"You're not looking close enough," she said to him as she turned around and faced him, hands on her hips. No doubt she'd seen his aloof expression. "Look!"

Looking toward the tree he struggled to see what she was talking about. It wasn't until she groaned and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him to his feet, when he actually got up and walked over to it.

Pinned between the kunai and the rough bark of the tree was a leaf, pierced directly through its center.

Okay, now Sasuke was impressed. Turning to look down at the girl who stood beside him grinning up at him, he looked back to the tree and pulled the knife out of its trunk. He then plucked off the leaf from the blade and handed it back down to her once again.

"Again," he said curtly. He wanted to see whether or not that had been luck, or actual skill.

Grinning at him, a sly expression on his face, she turned around completely, pausing for a moment, before throwing the kunai down the middle of the clearing, imbedding it in another tree about 40 feet away.

"Hey!" Ino called, frowning toward the pair, "Be careful with that Katahana," she scolded. The knife had flown directly in front of her face, missing the tip of her nose only barely. Sai, who stood by her, let out a light laugh at the child's antics.

"Sorry! It won't happen again," she called back sheepishly before grabbing Sasuke's hand again, pulling him after her. After walking directly through the rest of the team, awkwardly trying to avoid the eyes of his teammates, he followed the child up to the next tree.

Eyes widening, surprisingly impressed, Sasuke pulled the kunai out once more; and once again, she'd caught a falling leaf and pinned it against the tree.

"So, whatcha think?" she asked, arms behind her as she bounced excitedly. Sasuke had to resist the urge to let out a laugh. She _knew_ she was good, she had just played the modesty card, wanting for him to ask her so she could show him what she could do.

"You're just 'okay'?" he raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged, repressing a giggle, "Beginner's luck?" she said, hands covering her mouth.

"Yeah right," he said, finally allowing himself a smirk.

He'd been dreadful with kunai at that age, tripping and falling over his own two feet while trying to hit targets. He'd been clumsy as a young child, hardly capable of performing any sort of jutsu. And here was his daughter, hitting targets at the skill level of someone twice her age. Not only was he impressed, he was proud.

"Alright," he heard the voice of Shikamaru speak up across the clearing, "let's move out everyone."

After putting his pack back on, he looked to his side to see Katahana standing next to him, toting her own small backpack as well. He waited for her to walk back over to Kakashi, who stood not too far away, waiting for everyone to be ready before departing once more. But when she did not budge, instead remaining by his side, digging her heel into the dirt, he spoke up.

"You're not supposed to be running are you?" They'd been instructed to ensure that they arrived at their respective destinations as quickly as possible, meaning they couldn't risk being slowed down by the child.

Katahana shook her head, watching the ground as her foot kicked up some dirt. "I was just wondering…" she mumbled the last of her words, making it impossible for Sasuke to decipher what she was trying to say.

"I can't understand you."

"I was wondering if you'd carry me," she said quietly, still not meeting his eyes. In the short amount of time that Sasuke had known his daughter, he had been used to her being loud, social, and outspoken. This sudden… shyness caught him off guard a bit.

Was she afraid that he'd say no?

A series of memories flickered through his mind at that exact moment—of him at a young age, trying hard to be acknowledged by his own father, but only ever feeling the sting of rejection.

"Okay," he responded immediately. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable around him, or afraid to ask him for something. Sasuke wasn't completely sure what 'being a father' actually entailed, but he had a good idea of what _not_ to do; so at least he had a place to start.

She finally looked up at him, smiling to herself, and lifted her arms up to him.

Reaching down slightly, he carefully lifted her into his arms, watching as she wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt with the other. She then rested her head against his chest and let out a quiet sigh.

The knot in his throat that had been bugging him ever since he met her, made an appearance at that moment. Securing his hold on her, he walked over to the rest of the team, trying to ignore the stares. The Leaf nin may have been discreetly watching them before, but now all eyes were trained on the two.

He met only Shikamaru's eyes, who nodded once back at the Uchiha before addressing everyone else.

"Let's go."

And off they went again, running at full speed through the trees. They had until the following morning until they reached their first destination. The point where the two groups would finally split and head in their own separate directions.

Sasuke unconsciously held Katahana tighter as his mind wandered to that thought. He'd be separated from her in under 24 hours. She'd go off with Kakashi, Ino, Kiba, and Sai, and hopefully they'd deliver her safely to Suna.

He tried not to let his mind dwell on the fact that there were people out there—dangerous people—who were trying to find her. All because of him. Since she carried the blood of the Uchiha through her veins, and ultimately the ability to awaken the sharingan, there were those who wanted to blind or kill her.

Glancing down at the girl he held in his arms, he watched her still face. Her eyes remained closed, and a soft smile rested gently on her face. Her long, black hair flew all around, some of it even hitting against Sasuke's face. But he did not mind.

The want to protect her surged through his body, and he cringed at the thought of sending her off. He wanted more than anything to be able to stay by her side, and to protect her with any means necessary, but he knew that he had a mission to complete.

But for the moment, moving through the forest in the mid-summer day's heat, he tried to take solace in knowing that he was there, with his daughter, who lay safe and sound in his arms.

* * *

Sasuke thought that since the day had passed calmly and uneventfully he would be able to get a couple hours of sleep. But instead he lay awake, as anxious and alert as ever. He hadn't even attempted to sleep; when there were criminals roaming the country, looking to kidnap your daughter, you didn't want to risk being caught off guard in any way. There was too much at stake.

He'd been absentmindedly running his hand softly through Katahana's hair as he stared off into the darkness of the thick forest. The child was using his leg as a pillow, and was curled up on the ground, draped in her thick cloak. Sleeping soundly, Sasuke watched as her tiny shoulders lifted and fell, ever-so-slightly, with every steady breath she took.

They'd stopped running a little over an hour ago and they would only remain in their spot for a few more hours. They wouldn't risk staying put any longer than that. Shikamaru had advised everyone to at least catch a couple hours of sleep, and a few of the ninja put together a quick shift system; some would sleep for two hours while the others kept watch, and then they'd switch after the time was up.

Sasuke had remained silent when they all laid down for their first shift, not really caring enough to involve himself. But Katahana, who had fallen asleep during the run, awoke when he stopped moving. She then wriggled herself out of his arms and, grabbing Sasuke's hand, pulled him down with her as she prepared to fall back asleep on the ground beneath them.

But a few minutes after she'd made herself somewhat comfortable, she was still awake, staring blankly at the base of the tree that Sasuke had chosen to lean against.

She had looked nervous, her foot fidgeting beneath her cloak as her tired eyes stared, her mind definitely wandering to places that Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted it to go. It wasn't until he recognized the look in her eyes as fear when he reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Eyes refocusing, she looked up at him silently, meeting his eyes with her own fearful ones.

Closing her eyes tight, she scooted her body closer to him, a deep frown covering her face. When he saw the first tear slide down the side of her face, he started to move his hand gently, carefully running his fingers through her hair.

He had known that she'd seemed much too calm and collected about the whole situation than she let show. She was scared—he saw that now. She may have portrayed an optimistic demeanor much like the one Naruto had, she may be just as talented as a low-class ninja, and she might have the social skills and intellect of someone much older than her, but in the end it did not matter.

She was still a 7-year-old child.

Katahana had fallen asleep a few minutes later, but Sasuke had not stopped his movements. His fingers still moved lightly through her dark hair, the comforting gesture continuing even as the child slept before him.

As his hand moved, he tried to remain completely alert to his surroundings, but he could not stop his mind from wandering. There was still the fact that his real mission was to find Sakura.

The main thing that he couldn't help but think about was whether or not she was even alive. Tenten's report had stated that the man had helped 'the pink haired woman' and her counterpart only a few days before her encounter with them. But the man, who Naruto referred to as Masaru, had spoken with mock-sadness—with his blade through Sasuke's chest—about how he didn't want to orphan Katahana. That would imply that Sakura would've been dead.

Trying to make sense of his thoughts, he leaned his head back against the tree, gazing up into the night sky.

There was a chance that Masaru had found Sakura after the two men had escorted her to a nearby village. Without a correct timeline of all the events that had taken place, they were left with multiple questions and concerns.

He'd been staring up into the sky, tracing the stars with his eyes, when he faintly heard someone take a seat to his left.

"You should get some sleep," Kakashi said quietly, sitting himself beside the Uchiha. "We're scheduled to head out in about 2 hours. You might as well get some rest while you can."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi for a moment before shaking his head and slowly looking away. "I couldn't sleep even if tried."

Kakashi nodded, understanding Sasuke's mindset. "You're worried."

Sasuke wanted to laugh coldly at Kakashi's statement, which had been spoken with a strange amount of delight. "No shit," he mumbled to himself, still running his fingers through Katahana's hair.

"Try not to take this the wrong way, but it's a nice thing to see," the elder ninja said with a light hint of humor. "I've haven't seen you show actual emotion like this since you were about 12 or so."

Sasuke remained silent for a few minutes, taking in Kakashi's statement. He was right, of course. When Sasuke had been a young child, he'd been as carefree and happy as any other kid his age. But then, Itachi had received a mission that changed everything.

By the age of 8, Sasuke had been transformed into a post-traumatic mess. He'd closed himself off from the world, emotionally numbing himself to the point where all he felt was hatred and anger. And much like his brother had instructed him to do, he allowed the hatred to build up inside him, until it began to eat away at his psyche.

It wasn't until he joined team 7 when things started to change. Being teamed up with Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura seemed at first to be something that would only hinder his training. He had to grow stronger, and being teamed up with two of his ridiculous classmates was something that he silently fumed over.

From the young age when he'd been left without a family, he'd been completely alone. No family, no friends, no one who would be there for him when he needed it. He'd grown to despise everyone; his classmates, the ninja in the village, and the villagers themselves. He viewed them as nothing but selfish wastes of space who knew nothing about pain.

Then, when he joined team 7, he started to realize that maybe—just maybe—people weren't so bad after all.

He had never wanted to admit it, but he'd not only made friends who he liked spending time with, but he was beginning to enjoy life again. And little by little, emotions started to reappear within him. He actually began to care about others once more and began to realize that maybe Konoha wasn't such a bad place to live.

He'd started to become happy with his life. That was until Orochimaru found him.

Sasuke allowed himself to sigh, removing his gaze from Katahana and looking up at the sky once more. "Things are different now."

Kakashi nodded his head in agreement, "You can say that again." He let out a light chuckle. "How have you been these past few years? Honestly?"

"Alright," he admitted quietly with a shrug. "I don't leave any sort of exciting life. I don't do much of anything really."

"I thought you'd been travelling all this time?"

"I used to. I've been in the same village for a couple years now. It's quiet there," his fingers still continued their movements in his daughter's hair. "I haven't done much travelling since."

"Finally settled down," Kakashi said, nodding quietly to himself.

"Not exactly," Sasuke glanced across the small clearing and took note of Lee and Ino waking Sai and Shikamaru, trading sleeping shifts he assumed. "I was getting pretty close to moving again."

"Where to?"

"Wherever." He shrugged indifferently, "I just wanted change."

"I'm sure this isn't the type of change you were expecting, huh?" Kakashi gestured to where Katahana lay with a nod of his head.

"Not in a million years," he muttered under his breath. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all."

"She's a wonderful kid," Kakashi said, smiling beneath his mask. "A wonderful girl with a big heart. She may not show it completely, but knowing who her father is had made her happier than I've seen her in years. Of course, at the same time, with Sakura missing, I've never seen her more heartbroken either." He folded his arms as he frowned. "It's tough to see her like this. She told me yesterday morning that she felt bad for being happy about meeting you. She said it made her feel guilty because Sakura is still out there."

"I'm going to find her," Sasuke said in a low voice, his expression darkening.

"Katahana's holding you to that. And so am I." He put a hand on his former student's shoulder. "I am going to get Hana to Suna safely if it's the last thing I'll do. I'll protect her with my life." His eyes locked onto Sasuke's as he spoke. "In turn, I'm expecting you to find Sakura and bring her to us, safe."

"You already have my word," Sasuke stared back, although his eyes held no anger—only sincerity.

"And you have mine." Kakashi squeezed his shoulder again before releasing him completely, standing himself up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and get an hour or two of sleep. I suggest you _try_ and do the same." Much emphasis put on the word 'try'.

He waited until the elder Jonin walked away and laid himself down a few feet away, before he leaned back fully, letting his head hit the hard tree behind him.

Sasuke didn't want to think. He wanted to turn off his mind and shut out the world and get a moment of peace to himself so that he could fully collect himself. After the past few days, his resolve was beginning to waiver. He needed to regroup and try and find some sort of mental stability with his situation before it began to eat at him.

The last thing he needed to do was to doubt his abilities and ultimately his ability to perform the mission at hand.

He needed to concentrate.

* * *

Hitting the ground, face first, Sasuke quickly lifted himself up on shaky arms, blinking rapidly to dislodge the dirt and dust that had caught itself in his eyes. Lifting his head he spit out a mouthful of blood before glaring up at his opponent before him.

"You'll have to do better than that, child." Orochimaru stood before him, taunting him. He'd been training under the man for just over 4 months. Which meant for Sasuke: 4 months of trying to withstand relentless beatings at the hands of the ex-Leaf nin and those who worked beneath him.

Four months of trying to survive.

"I'm not a child," he growled, wiping the blood leaking out of his mouth on the back of his hand before launching himself forward, back onto his feet, and toward the man. But just as soon as he'd lunged at his target, it dodged his weak attack.

As he was kicked in the side, he was thrown back down into the cold hard ground. He'd heard the sound of bones breaking as he landed—a sound that he was, unfortunately, becoming accustomed to while living under Orochimaru's careful watch.

"You're weak boy. Why are you so weak?"

Lifting himself up on shaky feet, he faced the man again, ignoring the searing pain in his side. Instead of charging once more, he stood in place, hands pressed together as he worked desperately to regain some chakra.

"I know why you're weak. You haven't let your hatred fully consume you yet."

Making a series of hand-signs, Sasuke blew a fireball directly in the face of the snake-sannin. But before the flames could even clear, he was knocked forward by another kick to his back.

"You need nothing more than hate, _boy_. Until you release your useless bonds you hold, you will be weak."

Throwing a kunai behind him, Sasuke flipped himself forward and quickly turned to face him. Only to discover the large room empty before him. Checking all around him, eyes scanning every direction, he used his activated sharingan to try and see into the darker corners of the room.

A piercing scream suddenly filled the still darkness. Sasuke knew that scream anywhere.

"Sakura!" He couldn't stop himself from calling out her name as he desperately searched the room for her.

How? How had Orochimaru found her and brought her here? Wouldn't Kakashi-sensei and the others have stopped him? Damnit she was supposed to be in the village! Safe!

"The bonds make you weak."

At the sound of the voice behind him, Sasuke swung, kicking at the air behind him, glaring as Orochimaru swiftly dodged him.

"What are you doing to her? Let her go!"

"Do you want your revenge, boy?"

"Answer my question!" he screamed, swinging at the man with punches he could not land.

"Answer mine first."

"Yes," he spat out angrily, his fists still flying, "I'm going to get my damn revenge! But they have nothing to do with it."

"What do you care about more, your revenge or your friends?"

Sasuke stopped his attack and jumped backwards, only dodging a large shuriken by a few inches. Glaring into the darkness once more, he searched for his opponent.

"You must choose Sasuke."

"I already have!" he snapped, "I've chosen my revenge. I'm here aren't I?"

"Not good enough. You must focus entirely on your mission. If you don't, Itachi will never die."

"I'll kill him myself!"

"But what if your friends get in the way?" The taunt was quickly followed by another scream. The pained shout echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls and around Sasuke's head.

"Stop it!" Sasuke screamed, lunging once more only to be quickly thrown back again. As his skull smacked against the pavement beneath him, he clenched his eyes tight, trying to ignore the pain that was threatening to take over his senses completely.

"There will come a time where you will have to choose. If they stand in your way, what are you going to do?"

Sasuke did not reply as he lifted his head. With a shaky hand he touched the side of his head, feeling for the wound that was surely to be there. Looking down at his hand he found it covered in dark, thick blood; it was warm to the touch.

"If you really are dedicated to your mission, you'll dispose of them, and then continue with your revenge. But you'll never be able to do that if you still hold these childish attachments to them."

With a sudden feeling of nausea, Sasuke leaned forward and vomited all over the floor beneath him. Unable to support his weight any longer, his arms collapsed and he landed roughly next to the small pool of blood and vomit. Willing his eyes to refocus, he had to resist the urge to puke again when he finally fixated his gaze on something a few feet away.

Sakura's body lay there, eyes wide, breathing heavy, body beaten, broken, and bloody.

"Stop it!" Sasuke bellowed, "They don't matter anymore! So leave them out of this!"

Orochimaru looked down on him with a look of disappointment from where he stood next to Sakura's mangled body. "If they don't matter, then you shouldn't care if I do this."

With a lazy flick of the wrist, Orochimaru threw a kunai down at her body, landing it in her chest.

Sakura let out another scream, the sound shaking Sasuke down to the bones, before breaking down in a hysterical fit of sobs.

Watching as another kunai was stabbed through her shoulder, and a third at the base of her throat, her sobs began to die down quickly as her breathing grew shallow.

"No!" Sasuke screamed, trying to roll himself over so he could make his way over toward them. Orochimaru was killing her. The overwhelming urge to protect her—to _save_ her—forced Sasuke onto his hands and knees.

"If you want your revenge, you need to sever your ties with them, Sasuke," the man hissed in a silky voice. "Unless you sever those ties, and quick, then Itachi will live forever." He taunted the boy by using his foot to knock Sakura's body a few feet closer to him.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Sasuke's scream hurt his throat as he spat at the sannin. Crawling towards her body, Sasuke stared down at her in horror; blood was flowing out of her neck at a terrifying rate. Lifting a hand toward her, he knew that there would be nothing he'd be able to do to stop the bleeding. "She needs medical attention! Where the hell is Kabuto!?"

"You have two options, Sasuke." Orochimaru circled the boy, leaning toward him as he spoke, even his mere presence taunting him. "You either sever your ties with them, or I'll kill them." Sasuke's head snapped up toward him as he looked at the man in horror. His sudden fury caused his curse mark to envelope him—black flames covered his body head to toe.

"As long as they are alive, they are a liability. You will always be vulnerable as long as you have these bonds."

Pausing in his motions, Orochimaru stopped circling the pair, looking down on the bleeding girl before him. In one fell swoop he used his foot to slam the kunai further into Sakura's throat before using the same foot to kick her into Sasuke, knocking the boy's arms out from under him.

Looking to the body laying beside him in horror, Sasuke let out an enraged scream before using the last of his strength to launch himself back up onto his feet

And before he could think of any sort of attack, he was kicked again, his arm snapping with a loud '_crack_', his body falling back to the ground. His eyes immediately fell upon Sakura's face, inches away from his own. Eyes wide and staring out into nothing. Empty, lifeless eyes.

Frozen completely, Sasuke gave up, letting his body go completely limp as he forced down the urge to start screaming.

Then, out of nowhere, she disappeared, her form dissipating in a cloud of mist.

Sasuke could not stop staring at the spot where her body had been just seconds before. His eyes still fixed on where hers had just been. A mixture of fear, relief, and anger hit him.

It had been nothing more than an elaborate genjutsu.

"In order to become fully strong," Orochimaru spoke again waiting for Sasuke to gain control over his emotions. "The bonds must be broken. With all of your old friends and teammates."

On the verge of a panic attack, Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was somewhere else.

Suddenly, a vision of Konoha filled his mind. The green grass and tall trees and the lively roads and marketplaces appeared before him as if he were actually there. Naruto's laughter was filling his ears and Sakura's smile was before his face as Kakashi stood before the group, shaking his head in mock-disapproval of their antics.

"They must either be killed."

Naruto ran off ahead of the group, being followed closely behind by Kakashi. Grabbing his hand, Sakura pulled him along, laughing at Naruto and smiling at Sasuke, and not once letting go of his hand. Wrapped in the scene, he gripped her hand tightly, too afraid to even think about releasing it.

"Or the bonds must be destroyed…"

Suddenly, the memory began to fade away. The laughter died down and the green grass soon grew gray. Naruto and Kakashi's images in the distance soon became fuzzy and difficult to see, and the noise of the village became muted. Scared, he looked to Sakura only to see her body begin to fly away with the wind as if her body was made of sand.

"… and they must become dead to you."

Sakura's hand crumbled to dust in his grip.

* * *

Sasuke didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but when he was kicked awake—literally—by Ino, he was immediately on alert.

"Wake up," she said as she stopped kicking his leg. "We need to move, now." She spoke quickly and quietly, as if trying not to wake Katahana. All around them, he watched as his teammates hurriedly picked up their gear and prepared to depart.

"What happened?" Although he asked for an explanation he did not waste time by idly sitting by. As gently as possible he'd lifted Katahana into his arms as he stood, trying not to disrupt her slumber.

"Akamaru started getting restless so Sai and Kiba went to do a quick run on the perimeter," she explained as she assisted Sasuke in putting his pack on his back. "They found a small group of ninja who immediately attacked once they saw the leaf symbol on their heads. We need to get a move on, and quick."

"What about the ninja?"

"They've already been taken care of," she said, not explaining the situation beyond that. He figured they'd been killed after they'd attacked the two Leaf-nin. "But we're almost positive that they were part of an even-larger group, so we're leaving now."

"We're taking a bit of a detour," Shikamaru said, approaching the two, Kakashi following closely behind. "Kiba and Akamaru are going to go ahead of us as we travel, and Kakashi won't be too far behind them. Sasuke," Shikamaru looked at him, and immediately quieted his voice, taking note of the sleeping girl. "You're going to be in the center with Katahana. If anyone tries to attack, you'll be surrounded by us on all sides to keep them away from her." Sasuke nodded, carefully readjusting his hold on the child, remaining silent and still as she shifted slightly in her sleep.

"Sai is going to take to the sky," he continued, "And to your left and right will be Ino and Lee. I'll be a little bit behind you, and Hanabi will take up the rear."

"We need to leave now," a light, feminine voice spoke urgently, "there's already a group of people East of us, heading in this general direction at full speed." Sasuke watched as the younger Hyuuga sister—who he now knew as Hanabi—spoke quickly, byakugan activated.

"Alright, everyone. Let's go."

With their formation being put together in an impressive amount of time—Sasuke could've guessed it'd taken them no more than 8 seconds total—the group of Leaf-nin all departed from their spot at full speed. Now, anxiety and even a little bit of fear drove the ninja to move a bit faster than they had before.

Sasuke could feel the adrenaline causing his legs to move faster and his eyes to pick up more movements in the trees. Every branch that fell, every bird that flew, and every frog that jumped from one location to the next was caught by his sharingan.

He'd known that their mission would be dangerous, but now with the threat upon him, Sasuke could feel his anger rising, his determination increasing tenfold, as he ran through the trees in the dark of the night.

"Dad," a quiet voice called to him. Training his eyes on her face, which was currently peeking at him from the cover of both her small cloak _and_ his larger one, his expression softened. "We're moving already?"

Confusion filling her tired voice, he nodded to her a few times before realizing that she couldn't see his face in the darkness. "Yes. We're… trying to make better timing."

"Where is everyone? I can't hear them."

"We're running in a formation, to… cover more space." He was trying hard to think of quick lies on the spot, trying to spare her the scary truth of their current situation.

"We're being chased aren't we?" she said sadly, curling up more in his arms.

"Try and go back to sleep," he urged, dodging the question. Biting the inside of his cheek he pushed his legs faster, as if he could put some distance between himself and the situation as a whole. He wanted to carry her not just away from the criminals who were currently in pursuit of them, but away from everything. Away from anything that would threaten her with any amount of harm. "I'll protect you. Just go back to sleep."

Hiding herself more in Sasuke's cloak, he felt as she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt tightly, pressing her face into it. He could not see it, but the sound of her soft crying soon reached his ears and the feeling of his tear-soaked shirt soon reached his skin.

His arms tightened around her as he ran through the forest. He _dared_ anyone to even try to touch her. He wouldn't hesitate to kill each and every one of them.

"Katahana… it's…" he tried to steady his voice as best as he could, so his words would seem more comforting, "it's going to be okay."

Now if only he could convince himself of that.


	14. Chapter 14

Sasuke had watched while she attempted to repeat the jutsu, faltering with her hand signs.

"No, no like this," he said correcting her. He then performed the hand signs once more, only much slower this time, waiting for her to mimic his movements.

The child frowned at him before slowly repeating the hand signs. Then, holding her hand up in front of her she let out a long breath of air, producing a small ball of fire, no larger than her head.

"Ugh!" She let out a frustrated yell before kicking at the ground and crossing her arms.

The sun had risen not too long ago, and thankfully, the Leaf-nin had outrun the group of ninja that had been tailing them. They continued running three hours past the last time that either Hanabi or Kiba could detect any sign of enemy ninja. They needed to ensure that they were no longer being followed.

The group was currently stopped a few hours east of their destination. After being pursued the night before, it had thrown them off their original course. Kakashi had assured the rest of them that it shouldn't affect their estimated arrival times, informing everyone that he was familiar with these parts and knew a quick way to their checkpoint.

Needing a little bit more than a fifteen minute break, Shikamaru reluctantly allowed for a longer rest in order for everyone to catch their breath and get a little to eat.

And not long after they paused, when Katahana decided to start playing with Sasuke's kunai again, he got an idea.

He'd only explained how to perform the fireball jutsu ten minutes prior, but the child was already getting immensely frustrated with her apparent lack of ability to perform it.

"Don't get angry," he admonished. "That won't help you learn it."

"I'm not getting it though!"

"You're doing pretty good kid," Ino encouraged. A small crowd had gathered a little bit away from the duo, resting up as they watched the scene unfold before them.

"Ino is right Katahana-chan! You will master it in no time," Sasuke watched out of the corner of his eye as Lee cheered from the sideline. The man was just as energetic and optimistic as he remembered.

"I did the signs, I gathered my chakra, but it's not _working_!"

"Katahana, you literally just learned it a few minutes ago," Ino said, frowning. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I want to do an actual great fireball though, like he can," she sulked as she spoke to Ino, pointing a finger at Sasuke as she complained.

"You can't rush it," Sasuke said, agreeing with the kunoichi. "It takes time, and it takes practice."

"Show me just _one_ more time please?" she asked in a whiny voice, her lip jutting out in a pout.

Sighing, he rolled his eyes as he looked down at her, "Fine." He took a couple steps away from her. "This is the last time. After this, you just have to practice it on your own."

Performing the hand signs, almost lazily, he inhaled deeply and blew a huge fireball in the opposite direction of their clearing. The heat engulfed his body momentarily as he performed the jutsu, relishing in the comfortable feeling he felt. It had been the first jutsu he'd learned to perform successfully, and it was the easiest one for him to do.

"Let's not burn the forest down now," Kakashi called from the opposite end of the clearing. He was standing over by Shikamaru and Sai, probably discussing mission specifics. Sasuke ignored his teasing remark, instead staring down at his daughter who was currently on the verge of a tantrum.

"That was like, a billion times bigger than mine," she said frowning. "I'll never be that good."

"With that attitude, you won't." When he saw her expression turn from one of frustration to one of sadness, he cringed inwardly, hating the sight. "Look," he said, trying not to crush her spirits, "it takes a lot of practice to do it well. It took me weeks to do it when I was your age. _Weeks_. If you practice a little bit every day, you'll master it in no time."

Sighing in defeat, she crossed her arms and walked away, still frowning. As Sasuke watched her retreating form, he immediately wondered if he'd done something wrong. He hadn't been harsh or mean, had he?

He ran a hand down his tired face, blinking away the fatigue he currently felt. He only had a few more hours left with her before she would be off to Suna and he'd be off toward Earth Country. He didn't want to part with her when she was upset; especially since he was apparently the cause of her discontent.

"She gets like that a lot," Sasuke turned to look at the Inuzuka man, who stood not too far away, with his arms crossed over his chest, "don't take it personally."

Sasuke glared at the man, not liking the canine handler one bit; and ever since their confrontation back in Konoha, he basically hated him. He did not reply to the comment, instead only choosing to stare back at him. There had to be some reason he was telling him this.

"Let's get this straight," Kiba said, taking a couple steps toward Sasuke and speaking in a low voice, "I don't like you. You don't like me. And that's all dandy and fine and whatever. But," he paused, glancing past Sasuke and toward Katahana, "I care about her just as much as everyone else here does." He looked back up at Sasuke, meeting his hard glare with one of his own. "We'll probably never get along, and I doubt neither of us gives a shit about that, but one thing that I'm sure we can agree on is that her safety is of the utmost importance here."

Kiba held his eyes for a long moment, waiting for a response from the Uchiha. "Yes, and your point?" Sasuke curtly replied.

"I'm just trying to tell you that we're all going to do our best and get her to Sunagakure as soon as possible," he inhaled, closing his eyes as if cringing about the words he was about to say. "But I'm trying to make it so you won't… worry as much."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't," he laughed, "But the Hyuuga sisters have been ragging on me all fucking week for calling you out back at that meeting. Something about how I need to be 'nicer'," he made a mocking noise as he made air quotes with his fingers. "I don't know what they're talking about truthfully, but hey," he shrugged as he began walking backward, toward where his gear lay, "whatever will keep them from complaining."

"Shut up, Kiba," a feminine voice groaned. Sasuke looked to see Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, sitting a few feet away, currently adjusting the bindings on her leg.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor here," he said, grinning at her, "maybe by 'making nice' and all, he'll be more pleasant to be around after our groups split up."

"Don't be an ass," she glared, throwing a nearby rock at him, missing his head by inches as he dodged the incoming projectile. Kiba mumbled to himself as he glared at the Hyuuga, to which she responded by giving him the finger.

From that point, Sasuke decided that he liked Hanabi.

* * *

During the last stretch of their run to the checkpoint, Sasuke frowned to himself, his mood low and optimism all but inexistent. Upon departing from their final resting area, Katahana had asked Kakashi to carry her instead; and Sasuke couldn't lie to himself. It made him feel lousy.

Kiba's words were of no comfort to him. If she reacted like this all the time, then was she always upset with whoever was training her at the moment? The thought that she'd still be unhappy with him even after the two teams split, made his head hurt and his chest ache with heavy emotion.

He wasn't cut out for this whole 'parenting' business.

After what seemed like a lifetime of thinking pessimistic thoughts, Sasuke's attention was brought back to the present world as the teams eventually reached their first destination. They were only a few miles away from the border of Fire Country. From here, his team would go North, and the other would go South.

"Alright, Sai," Shikamaru turned toward the ex-Root member, "send a message back to Konoha, letting them know that we're finally splitting and we're safe. Remember, once in the morning and once at night, send a new message back home. We'll be doing the same."

"We probably won't see each other from a while," Kakashi acknowledged, placing Katahana on her feet as each team made final preparations, "any ideas on how we'll keep each other updated on what's going on?"

"I've already thought about that," Shikamaru said with a grimace, "but since we'll never know where the other group is at any given time of day, sending messages through the air into unfamiliar territory isn't the best idea."

"So, I guess the next time we see each other will be either in Suna or back in Konoha, eh?"

"After we follow every possible lead, and—and after we find Sakura—we'll travel to Suna." Shikamaru immediately adjusted his speech as he noted the child looking up at him, listening to his every word.

Kakashi and Sasuke shared a quick look. So it must have been a common fact that the likelihood of finding Sakura alive was still slim; nevertheless, they all had an unspoken agreement that they'd be as optimistic about the situation as possible when Katahana was around.

Sasuke knew better though. He knew that she was sharper then they knew. She understood the gravity of the situation—her fearfulness and her crying over the past couple days had confirmed that.

"Hana," Ino called from a few meters away, "you ready?"

The young girl looked to Ino, nodding once before turning back toward the men. Lifting her head she met Sasuke's eyes, a sad look on her face. Lip trembling and eyes watering she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. Trying to muffle her sniffles in his shirt, she pressed her face into him, almost wrapping herself in his cloak to avoid the eyes of the other two men.

Kneeling down, he slowly removed her arms from him until he was at her eye-level. Once he released her arms, she quickly wrapped them around his neck tightly, resuming her hold on him.

Slowly, he hugged the child back, not having any comforting words to say to her. He could only hope that the embrace would be enough for her.

"Please," she cried into his shoulder, "please bring Mommy back." Her voice hiccupped as she pleaded with him, her small arms never once loosening their grip. "Tell her that I love her, and that I miss her, and that I'm sorry I wandered off, please?" she asked him in a small voice.

Upon hearing her request, he glanced up at Shikamaru and Kakashi. They'd both heard it, too.

"Wandered off?" he asked, as softly as he could, trying not to startle her or cause her sobbing to increase in ferocity.

She nodded into his neck, tears making his shirt damp. "The night we were split up, I walked off by myself," she continued to cry as she spoke, making it difficult to understand her, but not impossible.

"Why did you walk off?"

"I thought that maybe," sob, "I'd be able to get" sob, "to Gaara-san by" sob, "myself." She let out a heart-wrenching wail, pausing in her confession to release her hold on Sasuke and sink to the ground. She only cried harder, pressing her knees into the dirt and curling downward, her hands over her head. Sasuke took note that now everyone's attention was directed at Katahana, who currently lay in a crumpled mess before him.

"What happened after that?" Sasuke urged, leaning down and placing a shaky hand on her back. Unsettled by her breakdown and fearful for her own emotional wellbeing, he rubbed her back, hoping that the gesture would calm her some; or at least be of some comfort. He watched as Ino approached the group quickly, kneeling beside Sasuke, but not saying anything; her hands remained at her side.

"I got lost real quick and I got really scared," she cried, tears falling into the dirt beneath her, "so I turned back and tried to make my way back to Mommy. But it took me _so _long," she let out a small groan, "and when I got back to our campsite…"

With all her sobbing, she then let her body fall completely limp, opting to lie on the ground instead of look any of them in the eye. It wasn't even a second after she lay down that Sasuke picked her back up again, wrapping his arms around her and letting her cry against him once more.

Katahana's arms hung limply at her side, as if all her energy were being put into her powerful sobbing instead of keeping her body upright. She leaned her face against Sasuke and cried for a few more minutes, tiring herself out more with each breath she took.

No one said anything for a long moment; instead, they all opted to remain silent, waiting patiently for Katahana to continue. Throughout all the questions they'd asked her over the course of the week, she had told them next to nothing about the night she had gotten separated from Sakura. And now that she was confessing everything to them, unprovoked, made them afraid to ask anything. They didn't want her to clam up again, and hold this information inside any longer.

"Katahana," Sasuke eventually spoke up after a little while, alerting his teammates. With wide eyes, Ino and Kiba tried shaking their heads at him, silently urging him to remain quiet. They didn't want to risk losing the opportunity to finally gain vital information.

But, like always, he ignored them.

"What did you see?"

Her cries had finally quieted to the point where they were only mere whimpers. Lifting her heavy head she still refused to look him in the eye; now, she stared off to the side, toward the ground. Sasuke would not take silence as an answer though.

"Katahana, what happened?" he asked, a little more sternly this time. He ignored Ino as she put a hand on his shoulder and quietly told him to 'cut it out'. Instead he repeated himself. "What happened?"

Still not looking at his face, she leaned toward him as if to rest her head on his shoulder, but instead she cupped a hand around her mouth and put her lips against his ear. "There was blood everywhere," she whispered, her voice still shaky. "It—it was all over the place and—" Letting out a single weak sob, she spoke a bit louder. "I don't want her to be dead." She removed her mouth from his ear and finally looked at him.

Her eyes terrified him.

Suddenly he was 8 years old again. Looking into the mirror of the new bathroom of the small living quarters he'd been assigned to after the death of his clan. It'd been a month since their demise, and Sasuke was a broken mess. His eyes though. They turned empty and hopeless, losing all the light they'd once held.

He had vowed to himself to make it so she never knew the same pain he had known, and he'd already failed her.

Reaching behind him, he grabbed his pack and immediately began searching through it without once looking.

"Hey," he said quietly, trying to get her to focus on him, "do you remember when I said you're an Uchiha?" She nodded a couple times as she finally watched his face, paying close attention to his words. "Well, we Uchiha are a very strong clan, very powerful. That's you, Katahana. You are as strong as any other Uchiha." Finally pulling his arm out of his pack, crumpled in his fist was a white piece of cloth, "So you have to use that strength now."

Handing the cloth over to her, she unraveled it with shaky hands, discovering it to be a shirt. On the back of it, she traced her fingers across a red and white fan, carefully sewn into the fabric.

"Can you be strong now?" he asked quietly, watching her expression carefully as she examined the large shirt. It was one of the only articles of clothing he still had in his possession that had the Uchiha symbol stitched on it.

"For Mom?" she asked in a small voice, eyes reaching his once more.

"For Mom," he confirmed with a nod. "As long as you have that, you need to remember who you are. And remember that you are strong."

Nodding fervently at his words, she threw her arms around his neck once more, squeezing tightly. "Thank you, Dad," she whispered. Releasing her embrace she made a move to walk up to Ino, but hesitated, looking back at Sasuke once more.

Leaning forward she hugged him again, landing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Bye Dad," she said, releasing him for a final time. Then walking up to Ino, she grabbed the woman's hand and waved toward Shikamaru. "Bye," she said, finally offering up a small smile.

From there, Ino led her over toward Kiba and Akamaru, before lifting her up and onto the large dog's back. Sasuke watched as she leaned forward on the canine, resting her head against its back and grabbing its fur in her hands.

Before he'd even picked himself up off of the ground, they had left, moving quickly toward their next, and final, destination: Suna.

As Shikamaru offered him a hand, Sasuke stared at it, still absorbing everything that had just transpired. Then, shaking himself out of his stupor, he decided to accept the assistance, grabbing Shikamaru's hand and allowing him to help him off the muddy ground.

He might as well start getting used to accepting help now.

He was definitely going to need it.

* * *

**A/N**: Hope you enjoyed it. The response that I received from last chapter was so overwhelming that I've been writing all week because of it. It's also a bit intimidating, since all of you seem to have high expectations for this story. Don't get me wrong, it's exciting! But at the same time I find myself taking my writing time a bit more seriously.

Thank you for the reviews and favorites; I truly appreciate it.

As for the last Naruto chapter: I fucking knew that is wasn't Kakashi's fault I just _knew_ it. Obito is a crazy motherfucker, Rin apparently made it a habit of hers to get kidnapped, and Sasuke, his weird little posse, and the Hokage need to get their asses to the battlefield before I have a damn stroke. Loving this manga/anime is too stressful I swear.

But back to Changing Skies: I truly love writing Hanabi's character. So far I've written quite a bit more (about 100 pages more) and I like that since her character wasn't developed in the anime I get to be a little creative with her, giving her a personality that _I _think she'd have. (A bit like Hinata. Small for her age. Nice girl. More powerful and outspoken than her sister though.) I won't give too much away though. I'll let you all find it all out with the next few chapters.

Thanks again. The next chapter will be posted before the week is over.


	15. Chapter 15

"She's going to be fine, you know."

Sasuke glanced up at Shikamaru from where he sat by the small lake. Their team had stopped for the night almost an hour ago, choosing to rest in a small clearing next to the slightly-larger body of water. Upon arrival Sasuke had situated himself on the edge of the water, and had been tossing stones in the lake ever since.

Sasuke chose to remain silent as he turned back to the water, flicking in another pebble with his thumb. He didn't want to hear any comforting words like that. He'd believe their statements and declarations once Katahana was in Suna, _safe_.

"Try not to worry so much," Shikamaru offered, picking up a small stone as well, running his thumb over the smooth rock. "They have everything under control."

Sasuke had to resist the very tempting urge to roll his eyes at the Leaf-nin's second attempt at reassurance. Uchiha Sasuke did not get worried.

Well. He_ used to_ not worry.

"No offense," Sasuke said, tossing in another stone, "But I'm not going to believe anything you say until she's in Suna."

"None taken," skipping his stone instead of just lazily throwing it in the water, Sasuke watched as Shikamaru skipped it across and landed it in the soft grass on the other side. "We have a mission to do though," he reminded Sasuke with a sideways glance, "I just want to make sure you're focusing on that."

The Uchiha followed the man's gaze as he looked over his shoulder and behind him. Hanabi and Lee had already settled down for the night. In a few hours, Shikamaru would wake them to change shifts so he'd be able to rest-up as well.

"If we find Sakura, we'll head to Suna. Until then, she needs to be your main focus." With that, the Nara man slipped away, retreating back toward the other two ninja who were currently dead to the waking world.

Grimacing, Sasuke tossed another stone in.

He hadn't missed his usage of the word 'if' as opposed to 'when'.

From then on, he decided not to get his hopes up. For all he knew, they'd be bringing back a corpse.

Attempting to fight off the incoming headache he could feel closing in on him, he stood from his space and walked over toward the rest of his team. "I'm going to run the perimeter," he said quietly to Shikamaru, not even meeting his eyes as he spoke.

Without waiting for a reply he'd already jumped into a nearby tree and began to run through the tall branches. He needed to clear his head.

* * *

"_How low you've fallen, Sasuke_."

Opening his eyes, a hand immediately slaps itself over them. It takes him a moment to realize it's his own hand. The pain he's feeling though, is a familiar one. One he's only felt while having his mangekyou sharingan activated.

Pulling back his hand, he squints down at it, hardly able to focus on it—his vision is too blurry. Even making out shapes is difficult. Closing his eyes shut, he deactivates it and looks down again. Still blurry, although he can see a little better now.

His hand is covered in blood, he assumes, from the mangekyou usage. Yet, when he hears and anguished cry a few feet behind him, he turns to see none other than Naruto.

In a haze, he watches as his former teammate runs toward him at full speed, passing by him without a single glance; Sasuke is not his intended target.

Instead the Uchiha watches as the ninja he once knew so well, falls to his knees before him—the water beneath their feet splashes slightly at the collision. Sobs immediately start to exit the man's body at a scarily alarming rate. Sasuke finds himself only able to stand and watch the display of raw emotion before him.

It isn't until he realizes what Naruto is holding when his blood runs cold.

Cradling her limp body, Naruto holds Sakura close. Her eyes are half-open, yet they see nothing. Her head is flopping back and forth as Naruto's sobs shake the both of them. Sasuke's eyes suddenly fall to his opposite hand; one he hadn't realized was still crackling with chidori. Thick, dark blood dripped off his fingertips and into the water below.

"_No, no no no!_" The ninja before him cries. "_No, Sakura, stay with me here! You're going to be alright._"

Sasuke knows he's talking to nothing but a body, but he finds himself fighting the urge to drop to his knees beside the man and beg as well.

Staring at the gaping hole in her chest, Sasuke's eyes grow wide and his mind runs wild.

_You killed her._

_She's dead now._

_Because of you._

_You killed her, Sasuke._

_It's your fault she'd dead_.

_She's dead, Sasuke._

* * *

_She's dead._

Sitting straight up, Sasuke inhaled sharply as his hands supported his body. He tried to tell himself that it was nothing but a dream, but the truth of the matter was that it was a partial memory as well.

That scene could have very well happened that day. If it weren't for Kakashi and Naruto.

Feeling a cold shiver work its way down his spine, Sasuke shook his head, glancing up at the bright sun ahead of them. They'd stopped for a short break a little while ago and, not getting much sleep the night before, Sasuke'd leaned up against a tree and rested his eyes for a moment. He hadn't meant to actually fall asleep, but by the look of things, he hadn't been out for too long.

"You alright?"

Turning to his right, not far away sat Hanabi, who was currently staring at him, a concerned yet cautious look on her face.

"I'm fine," he swore silently at himself as his voice cracked slightly, still raspy from sleep. "When are we heading out again?" He changed the subject abruptly.

She shrugged, "In a few, probably. Hey, Lee," she said, looking at the ninja to her right, "do you know how much longer it's supposed to take before we even get there?"

"I am not sure," the lanky man said, thinking to himself, "but I will be sure to ask Shikamaru when he returns."

"The Hidden Stone isn't too far from here. I'd say a day and a half—two days at most, until we're there."

"Really?" she looked slightly shocked, "How'dya know that?"

He looked away from her, watching as Shikamaru sent off a hawk, a message attached to it's leg. "I've travelled a lot. I live just West of there."

"Oh," she nodded to herself, slightly shocked at his knowledge.

Trying to ignore her attempts at conversation, Sasuke thought to himself. He didn't remember seeing her when he was a child; hell, he hadn't even known that Hinata had any siblings.

"You guys ready to head out?" Shikamaru asked as he approached the group.

"Wait," Hanabi said suddenly, holding up a hand. Activating her byakugan, she concentrated for a couple seconds before her eyes widened and her head shot to their left. "People are coming this way. Fast."

Shocked, Sasuke stared at the girl before turning to his left; he could faintly hear the sound of approaching bodies. They'd be upon them in seconds. He couldn't help but notice Lee shoot onto his feet and take a defensive stance.

Shikamaru quickly grabbed his arm and put it back by his side. "If we run now it'll look suspicious and they'll chase us," Shikamaru said quickly. "Don't initiate conversation or combat. I'll handle this."

Not feeling comfortable sitting there as potential enemies approached, Sasuke stood, crossing his arms and leaning his back against the tree.

The moment he focused his eyes to his left, four ninja shot out from the cover of the woods, halting immediately upon seeing the Leaf-nin. To two groups merely stared at each other, the strangers holding glares of suspicion as they looked back with eyes filled with apprehension.

When neither group said anything, Shikamaru took things into his own hands. "Can we help you?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. Sasuke was impressed with his ability to appear calm while conversing with the enemy. Well, _possible _enemy.

As he took in the group before him, he froze when he spotted a familiar face among them.

"_Leave and tell the others to stay away as well."_

The night the three ninja had attacked him and Katahana while travelling in the woods, he'd let only one of them live. And now, the man stood before him, toward the back of the group. Sasuke looked at Shikamaru and clenched his fists—he knew he wasn't supposed to initiate anything, but the urge to dispose of the man before him became hard to ignore.

Not making eye contact with his teammate, he turned his head toward the group and found himself meeting eyes with the man who'd attacked him instead. The man looked back at him strangely, as if trying to see something. Then, Sasuke assumed he must have finally recognized him—without the sharingan this time—because soon his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, a terrified expression on his face.

"Yeah," one of them spoke, an older man with unkempt brown hair, eyes trained on the ninja suspiciously. As he addressed Sasuke's team, he remained unaware of the shock that was currently overtaking a member of his own team. The man was backing up as their assumed 'leader' spoke. "We're looking for someone."

"What a coincidence," Shikamaru said, "so are we."

And as the words left his mouth, he grinned. Sasuke didn't realize what had happened until he heard the panicked man—the one who'd recognized him—yell out in fear.

Glancing over at them, he noted that _all_ of their faces held shocked expressions now. He was unsure of what was going on until Lee let out a laugh.

"Way to go, Shikamaru!"

It wasn't until Sasuke glanced down toward their feet when he noticed the slightly darker shadows now holding their bodies in place. Shadow possession.

"Why did you do that?" Hanabi whispered harshly toward Shikamaru. "What happened to 'don't initiate conversation or combat'?" she asked sarcastically, mimicking him.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru finally turned and acknowledged him, "how do you know that man?" He nodded his head to the man who had released the scared cry. Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. Of course he'd taken note of Sasuke's tenseness.

"He and two other ninja attacked Katahana and I on our way to Konoha," he said in a low voice. Taking a step toward the group, the man began yelling again.

"Wait," he called out, "I'm—I'm not doing anything wrong here! Let me go!"

"I told you to warn the rest of these people looking for her. Not to regroup and start hunting her again." Activating the sharingan, his attention was immediately distracted by the abrupt laughter of the man in the front of the group, the one who'd spoken.

"You were right!" he laughed, seemingly addressing the scared man behind him. Although with the inability to turn his head, it made it difficult to tell who exactly he was speaking to. "I swore you were just fucking with us!"

"I told you! There's still another Uchiha!"

Glaring, Sasuke walked right up to the front man, sharingan as red and intimidating as ever. "And what business do you have with the Uchiha?"

"I don't have any business with your kind. Not me!" he let out another laugh, "We're just doing our jobs here, buddy. We find the girl, we hand her over, we get paid. It's a job."

Before he could even lift his hand to strike the man, someone grabbed his arm, holding it in place. Looking over his shoulder angrily, he glared at Lee as he restrained his arm.

"You must hold on, Sasuke," he spoke seriously. "We can get some information here. Important information!"

Yanking his arm roughly out of the lanky man's grip he glared menacingly at his teammate. But as he thought about the situation, he knew that he was right. He couldn't kill them. Yet.

"So," Shikamaru called toward the men who were currently still held in his jutsu, "who exactly has hired you guys?"

All of them tensed up noticeably, suddenly seeming as if they didn't want to talk any longer. Even their 'leader' fell silent, his lips tightening and his eyes widening.

"It's no use," Sasuke said after a minute. "When I asked the men who broke into my apartment something like that, that green-masked guy showed up and killed them before they could say a word."

"Hanabi."

"Right," she nodded, reactivating her byakugan. "I don't see anyone within 200 meters."

"Talk," Shikamaru ordered.

"Look," the leader said desperately and quietly, "we don't even know the guy's real name. We were hired by someone he hired. You need to look for people higher up in the food chain than us, buddy. We're no more than errand runners, really."

"And your errand is kidnapping a 7-year-old girl?" Sasuke glared again, his sharingan still fixated on the group before him.

"I told you before! It's nothing personal! It's a job."

"You guys need to choose a new line of work," Hanabi muttered from her spot behind Shikamaru, folding her arms across her chest.

"How many more of you are there?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring the Hyuuga's remark.

"Dozens? Hundreds? I don't know, man."

"Please don't kill us!" the shaking man from before blurted out, panicked and still fighting against the shadow possession jutsu. "He'd—he'd just hire more people! It wouldn't change anything! Just let us go, _please_," he pleaded desperately.

"Would you shut up!" the leader growled angrily. "Ignore him. He's always like this. Paranoid and all. He does have a point though. Killing our teams won't do anything but increase the demand for more of people like us."

"It'll make me feel a hell of a lot better," Sasuke said in a low voice, not taking his eyes off the group. He had to resist turning to snap at Lee when the man grabbed his arm again.

"Shikamaru," Lee said worriedly, glancing back at the strategist.

"Sasuke, come on." Shikamaru called out to him. "We won't kill you guys. But it would be wise of you to turn in the opposite direction and stop your hunt."

"And find a new damn job," Hanabi muttered once again.

"Are you serious, Shikamaru?" Sasuke snapped, turning to finally fix his glare on his team leader. The man only responded by separating his hands and releasing the jutsu.

As they regained control back over their bodies, the men stumbled back a bit, relieved at being able to move their feet upon the ground again. But instead of listening to Shikamaru's advice, the leader quickly threw a kunai, missing his cheek by an inch. Afterward he drew a few more weapons and threw them towards him as well. Shikamaru easily dodged and Hanabi even grabbed a couple of them out of the air, pointing them back at the enemy ninja, ready to counter-attack.

Sighing, Shikamaru turned back toward the group, who stood poised to attack. He waved his hand toward Sasuke lazily. "Do what you feel needs to be done."

Finally fixing his red eyes back on the group who now stood, weapons drawn, he opened and closed his fists a few times. A kunai, a couple shuriken and even an explosive tag were thrown towards him and immediately thrown off their course, and far into the woods to the left of them.

Sasuke would be lying if he said he wasn't itching for the kill—waiting for their bodies to fall to the forest floor. This would be their punishment for hunting _his_ daughter. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Lee turned and walked back towards Shikamaru. Hanabi stood uneasily, lowering the weapons and looking toward Sasuke with a curious expression on her face. The older two ninja said nothing to her, allowing Sasuke's actions to do the explaining.

"_Do what you feel needs to be done_."

He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

The first time he felt the genuine urge to kill was just before his 15th birthday.

His training with Orochimaru had been painful and unrelenting—there was hardly time to rest while there was work that was to be done. Over the course of the past couple years, training to become stronger had become his only purpose. Strength was what he worked for. Revenge is what he sought.

He'd been sparring with a few random ninja who worked under Orochimaru, and his frustration was growing at an increasingly fast rate. It had been a particularly bad day and for some reason he could hardly land a hit on the red-haired man before him. Instead, the man evaded him with what seemed to be effortless ease.

Sasuke's blood began to boil as the man smirked at him.

Suddenly, the man's face was replaced with Itachi's, and the smirk that was mocking him took on an entirely different meaning. Seconds later, the man's neck had been snapped and Sasuke stood before the body, breathing heavily, arms shaking.

In all the training he'd done with the snake Sannin, he'd never once taken a life. Until now.

He could vaguely remember Orochimaru praising him at his ruthlessness—his voice had seemed muffled and far away. All he could see what the body before him. It wasn't his brother's body. Just a nameless ninja.

Killing his brother was something that he had been destined to do ever since the night his clan was all but extinguished. He knew it was his duty. It was something that had to be done.

He'd never felt the rush he had just felt—the heat in his chest, the heaviness in his head, and the need to _destroy_ something. No not something, someone. And instead of feeling regret, fear, or terrifying guilt—all the feelings he thought he'd feel if he were to ever take a life—as he stared at the dead man beneath his feet…

He felt invigorated. By killing the ninja he felt more alive than he'd felt since he'd arrived at Orochimaru's hideout those many months before.

He could kill. He could actually do it.

And as he turned toward the other ninja he'd been sparring with, he grinned wickedly. His fists opened and closed with savage want. He needed the feeling of his hands around their throats to make himself feel alive.

Their lives in exchange for his dark confidence.

If he could kill them, he could kill Itachi.

* * *

"You're going to need to sleep eventually."

Sasuke ignored Shikamaru as he approached him from behind. He'd been leaning against the tree, standing and staring off into the distance for a number of hours. The night was hot; even the absence of the sun was not enough to cool the air around them.

"How are you going to be of use to this mission when you're exhausted?"

"Do not assume that my lack of sleep will affect my ability to work," Sasuke said, willing himself to be calm to Shikamaru's scolding words. Sasuke knew himself better than anyone. He could stay up for a week before truly feeling any adverse signs of sleep deprivation.

One of the outcomes of living with Orochimaru for a few years.

"Listen, if this was any other place or time, I literally would not give a single shit," Shikamaru said, growing frustrated. "I'm not telling you to sleep 'cause I personally think you need it, I'm telling you to sleep 'cause I want you to have fresh eyes and a fresh mind. It will benefit this _team_ if you rest. Remember? You're on a team now?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," Sasuke snapped, turning to face the spiky-haired man.

"Then don't act like one," he countered, shoving his hands into his pockets and glaring. "We'll be at our next checkpoint by sunset tomorrow—"

"I know that."

"—And I'd _appreciate _it if you would at least get some rest." Sasuke could tell Shikamaru was struggling not to yell. The man was rubbing a space next to his right temple—warding off a headache most likely. He studied the man for another moment longer, his expression curious.

"So," he said, folding his arms across his chest, "is the girl still scared of me?" He asked, changing the subject abruptly.

Shikamaru frowned, "Hanabi's not afraid of you."

Sasuke let out a short laugh, "Sure."

After disposing of their enemy, when Sasuke washed the blood off his hands in a nearby river, he returned to his team. He was met by familiar glances from Shikamaru and Lee, but the Hyuuga, who stood uneasily behind Lee only stared with wide eyes.

Sasuke knew what fear looked like. He wasn't an idiot.

"She's heard stories about you. _All_ kinds of stories," Shikamaru informed him. "That was just her reacting to finally seeing you in action."

"And her reaction was fear," Sasuke said flatly.

Shikamaru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sasuke…"

"If I sleep for a couple hours. We leave an hour early in the morning."

Shikamaru thought for a quick second at the wager before nodding, "Fine, yeah, whatever." He waved another hand lazily in Sasuke's direction. "Just go the fuck to sleep," he groaned, turning to walk across the clearing back toward his gear.

Sasuke shot an annoyed look toward the man's retreating form before moving himself around the other side of the tree, obscuring himself from Shikamaru's view. Sitting himself down, he leaned his back up against the tree and closed his eyes.

He didn't want to sleep. And he doubted his ability to even succumb to unconsciousness in his current mental state. After a good twenty minutes of silent solitude, Sasuke sighed. There would be no way he'd fall asleep. Instead he let his mind wander to a similar situation.

* * *

"You need to sleep."

He heard her voice yet he did not turn his head to acknowledge her. He was lying in the grass, arms by his sides, eyes drifting off into the distance.

"You can't just go without rest, Sasuke." Taking a seat beside him, she threw her shirt back on, re-covering the pale skin of her stomach. Placing a warm hand on his chest she cocked her head to the side as she observed him. "In a couple days, we'll be at war."

"I'm aware."

"Okay, that's a start. Are you aware that you need to sleep?" Again, she was returned with silence. She sighed, leaning down to place a light kiss on his bare shoulder. "Sasuke…"

"Sleep doesn't come easily to me," he admitted quietly, still not turning his head toward her.

"Oh," she paused, removing her hand from his chest. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he chastised softly. "It's annoying."

She couldn't help but smile softly. Placing a hand on his cheek, she turned his head toward her, forcing him to look at her. He gazed up at her face, meeting her eyes with tired ones of his own. "Is there… a way I can help?" She asked with a concerned look on her face, trying to offer him some sort of assistance without truly knowing what could even be done.

He shrugged, still looking at her. "I just… can't sleep." He held her gaze for a long moment, "That's really all there is to it."

"You seem a bit more relaxed out here," she said as she observed his demeanor. "Do you think staying out here tonight might help?"

"We can't stay here all night."

"I mean, I know that. But I thought maybe, it would help?" her voice gradually lost its confidence as she spoke, trying not to let his statement dampen her mood. They both knew they couldn't stay out here _too_ long each night. People would come looking for them. And with their unspoken mutual agreement, they knew that they couldn't be found in this… risky situation.

As far as the others were aware, they were out here doing late-night training.

Well, it wasn't training exactly. But physical activity _was_ physical activity…

"Just," he paused, turning his head away from Sakura once more, "resting here is good enough. Even for a little while."

Nodding, she leaned her head down, resting it on his chest as she lay down beside him on the damp grass. Wrapping an arm around her body, Sasuke still did not look at her, but he did hold her close to him, not once loosening his grip.

No. Rest would not come to him.

Sakura's hand rested itself gently on his chest where Sasuke grabbed it with his other hand, holding it firmly in place; directly over his heart. As he felt her lips plant another light kiss on his skin he held her closer, allowing the gesture to soothe his anxiety.

Rest was unattainable. But this would be good enough.

* * *

**A/N**: Here's another chapter. I won't be posting another one for about a week or so, but do not fret. I will tell you only one thing: your patience will be _greatly_ rewarded.

Also, if anyone could recommend any good NaruHina fics to me, I would be grateful.


	16. Chapter 16

As they travelled farther and farther, and as they grew closer to the Hidden Stone, they started seeing less and less people. They'd been running just north of the border to Wind Country, choosing to travel through the Hidden Rain toward their destination. They'd only stopped by the village for a small amount of time. Namely to grab an actual meal and to send off another message to Konoha.

They had nothing of importance to report though. And as they grew closer to their next checkpoint Sasuke could feel his determination and hopefulness wavering. He didn't understand why; but he had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

_She's not dead_, he started to tell himself after eating a meal that, for some reason, wasn't sitting well in his stomach. _She's not dead._

Sasuke hadn't gotten any sleep, just like he knew would happen. He wasn't sure whether Shikamaru was aware of that or not, but he didn't really care. What would he do? Scold him? Sasuke wanted to laugh, but instead he continued to run alongside his teammates silently.

_She's not dead._

"How much farther?" Hanabi asked, shouting slightly so that her voice reached Shikamaru's ears, who was about a dozen meters to her right.

"Not much," he replied. "We should be there very soon."

_She's not dead._

They all fell into silence once more, paying attention to nothing more than the sounds of the forest around them.

He found his mind wandering toward Katahana. Since they'd parted ways a few days prior, he hadn't heard a single word from the group that was transporting her. That was to be expected since there was almost no way they'd be able to stay in touch realistically, but still. It set Sasuke on edge.

There was nothing more he could do except for try and trust the carefully assembled team of ninja to get her to Suna safe and sound.

It was too bad he didn't trust very easily.

"Up ahead," Lee called out, pointing a finger, "look!"

Only about a hundred-or-so meters in the distance they could see smoke rising up out of chimneys and the lights of the lampposts in the town lit up with the setting of the sun. They low hum of people chattering reached their ears as they slowed down before the entrance, and slowly made their way into the village.

Leading the way, Shikamaru walked briskly through down the semi-busy road. People filled the streets, walking to and from shops and restaurants and their homes. The sun was just about to set but it seemed as if the Hidden Stone was just beginning to awake and start the day.

The quartet walked through the street quickly, trying not to cause much of a fuss or draw too much attention toward them—the _last _thing they needed was unnecessary attention. A few passersby turned their heads and watched them for a brief moment, but soon lost interest and continued on their way.

They had a place they needed to be.

After walking for a few minutes Shikamaru started to slow down, "We have to be close," he looked up and down the street, looking for something.

"It's up ahead," Sasuke said, walking ahead of the man and taking the lead. A couple more blocks down the road and they were standing outside of a small inn.

Making their way in, Hanabi walked toward the front counter, politely and efficiently speaking to the older man behind the desk and securing the group two rooms. Before she'd even finished, Sasuke had already taken it upon himself to begin walking farther into the inn and locating the staircase.

Making his way up the stairs—with Lee following behind him—Sasuke stopped at the only other floor and gazed down the hallway at the series of doors.

Lee nimbly made his way around Sasuke and began his way down the hallway. Stopping at the second to last doorway on the left he grinned and grabbed the doorknob.

Just as Sasuke was about to protest, the man flung the door opened and walked right in. "TEN-TEN!"

The Uchiha winced as he approached. Hearing Shikamaru approaching behind him, he shot the team leader a look. "That could've been anyone's door."

Shikamaru waved his hand dismissively as he finally reached him, "Lee can recognize her chakra signature better than anyone." Walking past him, Shikamaru walked through the door as well. Sasuke crossed his arms, frowning as he followed the two in.

Lee currently had Ten-ten enveloped in a hug and was currently holding her up off the ground. A young girl with blonde hair—no older than 13 or 14—stood on the opposite end of the room, shocked at the sudden appearance of the three men.

"It has been so long Ten-ten! I have truly missed you!"

Ten-ten let out a light laugh as she pushed against his shoulders gently with her hands. "I've missed you too, Lee. But can you put me down now? I think you're freaking out Maaya." Glancing over at the genin, Lee set down his old friend, smiling with slight embarrassment, as Ten-ten's feet were back firmly on the ground.

It wasn't until the woman took note of Sasuke when her expression changed. "Sasuke," she said, shocked. "I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said bluntly.

Sasuke did not reply, nor did he unfold his arms. Instead he just looked at her with a blank expression. He didn't want to have to hear the questions she undoubtedly had or give any sort of reason for his actions. He'd spoken more to people in the past couple weeks than he had in the past few years combined. It was time for a break from that.

"Long story," Shikamaru said bluntly. Sasuke could tell the true meaning behind the words. He'd probably tell her later once everyone was settled in for the night. "After you get your team settled in, let us know. We're in the two rooms across from you guys."

"We were just getting ready to head to dinner," she said, looking at her student and then back at the men, "but that can wait if it needs to." As she spoke, Sasuke took note of the two boys who were standing out in the hall, peeking into the room.

Shooting them a sideways glance, and taking note of the Konoha headbands strapped to their foreheads, he assumed these were Ten-ten's two other students. One boy stood uneasily with light brown hair and a freckled face, the other boy—much smaller and seemingly much younger—stood closer to the group with a curious expression. His dark hair was messy, and gaze; curious.

"We'll be here all night, so it can wait for a little while," Shikamaru said. "After dinner we can discuss… our mission." He spoke his words carefully, glancing at the two boys in the hallway, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Hey there Osamu."

The smaller boy walked into the room, looking at Shikamaru with narrowed eyes. "Is Hana still missing?"

Shikamaru managed to release a genuine smile as he placed a hand on the boy's head. "No, we found her."

The boy's eyes widened as they looked up at the jounin. Sasuke couldn't help but notice the unshed tears in the boy's eyes. "Really?" the child asked desperately, "Did you guys really find her?! Where? How!?"

"He found her," Shikamaru threw a thumb over his shoulder at Sasuke, "He brought her back to the village and we're now bringing her to Suna. She's on her way there now with Ino-san _and_ Kiba-san."

The boy walked directly up to Sasuke, blinking back his tears, and looked up at the older man with a brave expression. "What is your name, sir?"

He raised an eyebrow at the child, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Thank you so much," the child bowed before him, his arms straight at his sides, "Sasuke-san. Thank you!"

Sasuke was unsure of how to reply to the child's gratitude, so in his usual manner, he didn't. Instead he waited for the boy to make his way back over toward Shikamaru and Ten-ten, before letting his gaze wander.

He listened half-heartedly as they readied themselves to go eat together, catch up, share stories, and as they spoke, one thing was certain: more than anything in the world did he want to avoid that circumstance altogether. Instead, as they exited the room, he located Hanabi immediately and demanded to know which room he'd be reluctantly sharing with Shikamaru.

He supposed he could've spoken a little less harshly toward the woman, but he didn't dwell on it much to care. After all, even though she'd looked scared for a split-second, she'd quickly muttered something to him and handed him the key after pointing to a door only a few meters farther down the hall.

Now he stood, staring out the window and onto the noisy street below him. Where most other villages began to quiet as night fell upon them, this village was only truly alive and bustling once nightfall came.

This was one of the reasons Sasuke never found himself able to stay in this village longer than a week at a time. When he'd been travelling all those years, the Hidden Stone village was nothing but a stop along the way for him. He wasn't a fan of the apparent overly-busy social life of every damn inhabitant.

It wasn't until a couple hours later, after everyone had returned from some random restaurant down the road, when the five older ninja gathered around.

"Thanks for playing along with that, you guys," Ten-ten thanked as she closed the door behind her, "They're usually a lot quieter. But with familiar company, that changes quite a few things."

"Volume control is definitely one of them," Hanabi commented, leaning against the far wall with a grin on her face. "I don't think we're going to be allowed back at that place."

Ten-ten couldn't help but smile back, slightly-embarrassed. Lee laughed as well, moving to sit beside his old teammate after she chose to sit by the doorway.

"So," Shikamaru interrupted their banter, bringing their attention to the situation at hand. "Go ahead and tell us about the two men."

"Right," she nodded, her expression turning thoughtful. "We were originally planning on heading home after we finished our mission that day, but as we were walking back here to gather our things that's when I found the guys. They were walking ahead of us, and they were being rather obnoxious, and especially loud, so it was kind of hard _not_ to hear what they were talking about."

"And then they mentioned Sakura," Lee said, egging her on.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the one guy's exact words were 'this fucker made us late to the festival 'cause he insisted we help this old hag and some pink-haired woman'. That's when I started paying attention. Then they started talking about how banged up she was and that 'there wasn't a way in hell she'd make it 10 feet on those damn mangled legs'."

Sasuke cringed as she spoke, his fist involuntarily opening and closing out of frustration. Still, he stayed close by the window, not moving from his spot.

"When did you stop them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Right after I heard that actually," she said, her eyebrows crunched up together as she dug the recent memory out of her mind. "I first asked them who they were talking about and they completely ignored me and blew me off. I had to get a little forceful with them," she admitted with a grimace. "But after pinning their hats to a nearby shop sign with some shuriken, they stopped and talked to me."

"And from what they told you, you're _positive_ it's Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, speaking slowly.

"Without a doubt in my mind. They described her down to her black gloves and Konoha headband—which was apparently strapped around her thigh." She shook her head as she shuddered, "From what they were saying, she wasn't looking so good."

Sasuke kept his eyes on the road below them, ignoring the uneasy feeling growing steadily inside him.

_She's not dead_. He found himself repeating the phrase once more. _She's not dead_.

"They were travelling from some other town toward here for some festival they had last week, and this elderly woman stopped them. They told me that the woman was travelling through the dead-center of the woods—not even anywhere near a path—and she was supporting Sakura on her shoulder. And apparently the woman just pointed at them, demanded that they help her, and for some reason that _they_ didn't even seem to be aware of, they just did."

"Help how?"

"It appears that they followed the woman and carried Sakura a little bit North for a few hours until they got to some random village. Then, they dropped the two off in the woman's house and just left."

"This village," Sasuke said, speaking for the first time, "where is it?"

"That's the frustrating part," Ten-ten said, quickly getting over her surprise of Sasuke addressing her so abruptly. "They didn't remember the name of it, or its exact direction, but over the past few days I've gone over a couple maps and I think I have a good idea where the town _might_ be."

Pulling out a folded map from a pouch strapped to her side, she quickly unfolded it and spread it out across the floor. Even Sasuke found himself taking a few steps closer to their location to see it.

"We're here," she said, pointing to a prominent black dot, "they came from this direction," her finger made up and down motions a few inches left from the dot, "and they stopped and dropped Sakura off around this area," her finger now made a small circle in a tiny space directly west of the Stone village.

"There aren't any villages in that area though," Hanabi said, frowning as she followed Ten-ten's directions.

"I know," she said, a little dejectedly, "I figured it might help you guys out a little though."

"It does," Shikamaru assured, "this is the best lead we've gotten. We may actually find her now."

"What are we waiting for," Sasuke growled, staring down at his teammates, "we know where we need to go. Let's go _now_."

"We need to rest, Sasuke," Shikamaru said sternly. It was apparent that he was getting fed-up with Sasuke's stubbornness and blunt attitude. "We'll leave at sunrise. But we need to sleep, eat, and then we'll be ready."

Sasuke was ready to snap back at him, but instead he kept his mouth shut, choosing simply to glare at Shikamaru.

"Ten-ten, thanks again," Shikamaru smiled at her, placing a comforting hand upon her shoulder, "this really is great."

"I just really hope you guys find her," she said with a soft smile, "how's Hana?"

"Good. She was home for a few days, but we have a team bringing her to Suna right now. They should be there within the next day or so."

"Was she there when it happened?"

Shikamaru could only nod, a solemn expression on his face; Sasuke couldn't help but think back to the day of their departure. Katahana's teary confession. Her wide eyes looking him in the eye and small arms wrapping themselves around his neck.

"Well," Ten-ten said, standing up and refolding the map, "hopefully when you reunite those two, it'll make things better."

After her departure, Hanabi and Lee made their own exits, retreating back to their room next door to settle in for the night. Sasuke chose to stare out again at the village; still filled with people, and still noisy.

"Sunrise is only about 6 hours away," Shikamaru said to him a little while later, while laying down to sleep at the other end of the room. "Sleep would do you some good."

Sasuke did not acknowledge his words and Shikamaru said nothing more; instead opting to roll over and get some rest of his own.

Glaring at the dozens of people walking around on the street below, Sasuke studied each of their faces as they passed. His eyes going from one person to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Searching for something that was familiar. Something that perhaps didn't belong.

He idly wondered how many of these people had seen Sakura in their own travels. Or how many of them were one of the many that were hired to kidnap Katahana. He was suspicious of everyone, but regardless of how badly he wanted to go off on his own, find, and _destroy_ everyone who was a threat to his daughter, he knew he could not.

For the first time in many years, he had to follow the orders and plans that were not of his own making. And to go from being on your own for over 8 years, to being demanded to listen to orders—from not just someone else, but from his old comrades no less—wasn't just frustrating…

It was downright, borderline unbearable.

_She's not dead._

He could only hope, as he watched the villagers beneath his feet and his gaze, that tomorrow would be better.

* * *

"Who was that child?" Sasuke asked after they'd been walking for a few minutes. The sun was minutes away from making an appearance from behind the far-off mountain, and the birds were just beginning to wake.

Shikamaru glanced sideways at Sasuke, hand in his pockets as he walked. "Osamu Sarutobi. He's Asuma and Kurenai-sensei's son."

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, "Huh," he mumbled to himself. There were seemingly many things that he had missed when he left the village. It almost made him want to ask a couple more questions to learn a bit more about events that had taken place in his absence.

_Almost_.

"He'll be 9 this month." Sasuke shot Shikamaru a look that said '_I don't care_', but Shikamaru merely shook his head. "He's Hana's best friend." He spoke, as if explaining himself.

Sasuke nodded, taking in this piece of information. For some stupid reason, he hadn't thought of the possibility of Katahana having real friends that were actually her age. Strangely, when he pictured her being in the village, he only pictured her with Sakura or with more of his other ex-comrades.

"_Katahana's had an extremely normal childhood._"

Ino's words rang through his head as he thought back to the day where he awoke in the hospital back in the village. Of _course_ she had friends her age. Normal children did. He'd had friends too when he was younger.

But of course, things changed when he was left all alone.

He was scared. He'd never admit it of course. But he was afraid that this would damage her beyond repair. That his own daughter would be forced to live through the same pain and misery that he had to endure. That she'd turn from the bright child with a promising future into the shell of a hopeless child.

He had to find Sakura. For Katahana.

They'd find her safe and sound and bring her to Suna and reunite the two and then he'd run off and kill everyone who was a threat.

Then things would be alright.

Only _then_ would Sasuke be able to breathe again.

"He's a little young to be a genin." Sasuke's comment was made to try and distract himself. To keep certain thoughts at bay.

"He's good though. Even for his age. He'll be up for chuunin in a few months." Shikamaru said. As he spoke Sasuke could've sworn he'd seen a smirk on his face. He couldn't tell if Shikamaru was proud of the kid, or just boasting. It could be either, really; his late-sensei's son being a strong ninja already at such an early age. If it were Katahana, Sasuke would probably be feeling the same sort of pride.

Sasuke then frowned as they walked, almost at the far end of the village. "Her best friend is a boy."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him, and he couldn't help but notice Hanabi grinning as she walked a little bit behind Shikamaru. "Is there something wrong with that?" As soon as Sasuke realized what his words implied—that he didn't approve of his daughter being close with another boy around her age—he closed his mouth tightly. As Hanabi let out a light laugh, he began to grind his teeth.

Great.

"I've always pictured you as the over-protective type, Sasuke. But they're _kids_." Shikamaru was almost mocking him at this point, the man's usually calm face contorted into a teasing grin. Even Lee was amused by it, sporting his own goofy-looking smile.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before stalking slightly ahead of the rest of the group. He just wanted to get moving already.

Soon after leaving the village, they were off again, travelling westward through the forest and the mountains. Their plan was to travel for about an hour, then they were to begin looking for signs of life—villages, towns, roads. They would search and investigate each town they would find within a twenty mile radius from their stopping point. And depending on just how many towns they found in the dense forest, it could take them a while to comb through each one.

Upon reaching their first stopping point they turned North, Hanabi now taking the lead and searching for any sign of people. They travelled North for almost two hours, meticulously searching for some sign of a town.

After finding nothing, they retraced their steps and did the same thing, but South this time. Still after searching—this time, for over three hours—they found nothing. As they made their way back to their starting point once more, Sasuke stopped suddenly, catching himself on a thick tree branch.

As his team noticed his lapse in movement, they stopped and made their way over to them.

"What is wrong?" Lee asked, jumping on the same branch beside him. Sasuke held up a hand to silence him. Activating his sharingan, he turned left, toward the West, as if looking for something that the rest of them could not see. Even Hanabi, byakugan activated, searched in the direction Sasuke was staring towards, but found nothing. Shrugging at Shikamaru, she simply joined the other two men in watching Sasuke closely.

"I know where we are."

Without further explanation, he immediately began to travel West, expecting the others to follow behind him.

"Should we not travel back to our start point?" he heard Lee ask Shikamaru uneasily, but when he heard only silence in reply, Sasuke could only assume that the shadow-jutsu expert had dismissed Lee's comment.

After travelling about twenty minutes, Sasuke stopped again, quickly dropping to the forest floor. Walking up to a tree with a rather large trunk, he approached the base of it, brushing fallen, dead leaves out of the way, revealing a dark kunai lodged into the wood.

"I've been looking for this," he mumbled to himself as he pulled the weapon out of the tree. He wasn't far from the town he'd been staying in for the past couple years. That's why these woods looked so familiar to him; he'd been exploring through them and training in them for years. Straightening up and looking at Shikamaru, he immediately knew that they were on the same page.

So with a nod he took the lead, taking off into the forest in a sprint, not caring if the others were caught up with him or not. After travelling for a few more minutes, he was alerted of their close proximity when he heard the faint sound of a gasp.

"There's a village up ahead! About half a mile more." Hanabi said excitedly.

Just minutes later, Sasuke halted his movements. Up ahead, with the sun beginning its descent in the sky, he squinted toward the village, only to have his eyes widen. Taking off in a sprint, he made his way directly toward the village, making a bee-line for the one main dirt road that cut through it.

Pausing as he reached the road, he looked around, his fury increasing exponentially. He'd almost forgotten about his team when he heard Hanabi gasp behind him. Turning around, he spared them a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the village around him.

Or at least, what was left of it.

Almost every window he saw was shattered, every door was either missing, broken, or hanging loosely off its hinges, and where a few houses had once been, only charred wood and rubble remained in its place.

"This isn't the work of your common bandits," Hanabi said, walking cautiously down the road ahead of them.

Standing behind Sasuke, Shikamaru shook his head, agreeing with her. "This was a _mob_. These people were looking for something."

"Or," Lee said uneasily, "someone."

Anger coursing through his veins, Sasuke stalked forward directly down the center of the road, taking in the sights before him. He could hear the crunch of broken glass beneath his sandals as he walked, his eyes darting from one side of the street to the other. Pausing, he looked to his right, eyeing a small three-story brick building. His apartment.

The front windows of Nori's shop were completely blown out—nothing remained of the little designs painted carefully into the glass. Her "Open/Closed" sign was just to his right, on the ground and covered in dirt and glass.

He didn't care much for the town as a whole, but he could only secretly hope that she'd stayed hidden. Or maybe even shown up from her weekend adventure late—possibly even missing all the madness completely.

"Well lookie who decided to stop by!"

Eyes shooting upward, he had to repress a sigh of relief as he saw an all-too-familiar person wave a wrinkled hand toward him.

Hanging slightly out her apartment window, was none other than Kato Nori herself. "Oh, would you see that? You brought some of your ninja friends along!" She pointed at him with a shaky finger and glared, "Now don't you move one little _muscle_! I'll be right down!"

"Do… you know this woman?" Lee asked, scratching the back of his head, as he slowly made his way to Sasuke's side.

Sasuke finally let out a sigh as he nodded once. "This is where I've been living."

"So what? Is that your roommate?"

Sasuke glared, "I live _above_ her."

"Now come on over here so I can get a good look of all ya!" Eyes back toward the entrance of the shop, Nori stood in the doorway, slippers on her feet, hands gripping the doorframe where a door no longer hung.

Instead of stepping out into the street, where the shattered glass lay, she waited for Sasuke to move, not saying a word _or_ breaking eye contact with him. Walking up to her he stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to say something. Standing up on her tiptoes she squinted her eyes at him, examining his face carefully.

Then she lifted her hand and affectionately patted Sasuke's cheek a couple times. "Good to see ya back, Sasuke."

"I'm not here for long," he said, trying to ignore his embarrassment at her gesture. "We're on a mission."

"Ah, I see," she turned her gaze toward his teammates, eyeing each one of them carefully. She smiled soon enough, nodding to each of them, "It's nice to meet some friends of Sasuke's. I'm Nori."

"Nice to meet you," Hanabi greeted politely. "I'm Hyuuga Hanabi, that's Nara Shikamaru, and this is Rock Lee." She introduced her teammates with a nod of her head toward each one.

"Could you possibly tell us what happened here?" Shikamaru asked, getting straight to the point.

"I don't have a damn clue, son," she said shaking her head, frowning. "I get back in town last Wednesday and this entire place is practically torn to shreds."

"Where is everyone?" Hanabi asked, looking around and spotting nothing but destruction.

"Almost everyone is gone. Probably ran off when this place was attacked."

Shikamaru nodded, "We'll be exploring a little bit, will you be here all day?"

She laughed, "Sonny, I'm not going anywhere lookin' like this!" she gestured toward her nightgown and slippers. "I'll be here all night." Turning toward Sasuke she smiled, "You should stop by in a little bit, I'll be makin' supper real soon. I'll make enough for the whole lot of ya." Reaching up and patting his cheek again, she turned around and walked farther into what was left of her shop, disappearing in the darkness.

"She's sweet," Hanabi commented as they began walking down the dirt road.

"But she didn't see what happened. We have to find someone who _did_." Shikamaru was turning over pieces of wood and rubble with his foot as they made their way down the road.

Nodding, Hanabi activated her byakugan, scanning the immediate area. "There's a few people here and there."

"Anyone who isn't hiding in their homes?" He asked, hands in his pockets. Sasuke knew the meaning of his question. If they were to walk up to a civilian's door—or, where they _should_ have a door—there was no way in hell these people would answer it after what'd happened to them.

The thing was… they needed to actually find out what really did happen.

"There's a place at the end of the road with a few people in it," she said, letting her white eyes return back to normal. Following her line of sight, Sasuke knew what she was talking about.

After a couple minutes they approached the old rickety izakaya. Surprisingly enough, the door still remained on its hinges. Although as Sasuke went to open it, he realized that the frame had broken, so instead of using the doorknob, he simply pushed the door open with his fingertips, watching as it swung open.

Back behind the bar, he watched as the slightly-familiar face of a boy hammered some wood to the wall. Toward the back of the place, Sasuke saw the owner of the place, sitting on the floor, examining the bottom of one of the tables.

Walking farther into the place, as he stepped on a piece of glass, both of the occupants' heads shot toward the group. The boy quickly grabbed a knife from behind the bar, but upon recognizing Sasuke, he lowered it.

"It's you," he heard the older man speak in a gruff, low voice as he approached the front of the restaurant. "We're closed though, sorry."

"We're not here for a drink," Shikamaru said, moving in front of Sasuke, "we have some questions we're hoping you could answer for us."

Wiping his hands on his dirtied pants, the man studied the three new faces. He let out a laugh, "Ninja huh? If only you'd been here last week."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"A bunch of fucking crooks just tore this whole damn town apart."

"How many, roughly?" Shikamaru asked, eyebrow raised.

"A lot." The man dead-panned. "I don't know, like at least a dozen or so." He shrugged. "Breaking shit, setting things on fire when people wouldn't answer their doors. I had a couple people come in here with the nerve to threaten me in my own damn place. Can you believe that?! Sons of bitches I'll say." As he ranted, the boy approached the group, handing the older man a glass of water before standing beside him and looking at the ninja with suspicious eyes.

"Do you know why?" Shikamaru asked. "Did they want money or…"

"Nah, they didn't care much for money. They just kept screaming nonsense at us and then demanded to know where that street kid went."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Street kid?"

"That girl that you were with last week," the boy spoke up, looking at Sasuke. "The one you walked around town with."

As Sasuke recalled their day around the marketplace, buying groceries and clothes for Katahana, he frowned at the memory.

"They described that scraggly little thing down to her raggedy backpack," the man gulped down the water noisily, with little regard of the people standing before him. "I told them I hadn't seen her in a while," he jutted his thumb in the boy's direction, "then he told them that he'd seen her with you. So after we described you, they left."

Sasuke wanted to release some of his anger by snapping at the man, but then he realized that they didn't care. They were all about self-preservation in this town. They'd sell out anyone as long as it would save their own skin. He couldn't blame them, really.

"Speaking of that little rat, where'd it go? I swear if those crooks come back here I'm going to be fucking pissed. Is she with you?" he looked around the group, his frown intensifying as he found nothing.

Resisting the urge to drive a kunai through the man's skull with his referring to Katahana as a 'little rat', Sasuke forced himself to turn around, and walked right on out of the bar.

As his sandals hit the dirt road he started walking back toward the other end of the village. He was angry. No, angry was an understatement. He was _livid_. These people… these _idiots_ thought that they could just drop in and _take_ his daughter? He needed to find these people. He needed to find them and kill them, _now._

Stopping himself just a few blocks from his apartment, he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to calm down. If he kept those thoughts running, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep himself in control. He had to remain in control if he was going to find Sakura and protect Katahana.

From that point forward he made a silent vow to himself that he wouldn't let anything affect him. He was to stay in complete and utter control. No one's words would carry the ability to make him feel one way or the other. No amount of threats or taunts would get him to react. He'd need to lock his emotions up further down inside of him if he wanted to succeed with the mission he'd given himself.

Feet moving again, Sasuke quickly made his way back to the building, walking through the doorway and into the shop. As he ascended the stairs he resolved that he'd turn back into the hard, cold, emotionless shinobi he'd once been. Or he'd at least turn as cold and emotionless as he trusted himself to. He knew that giving in to this temptation was dangerous, and he had to be careful as to not lose control, but he didn't care. He had a job to do. Taking this risk would be worth it if he could protect them.

Maybe in doing this, in finding Sakura and returning her to Katahana, it would make up for at least some of the wrongdoings in his life. Not all of them of course. No amount of good deeds would ever absolve him of the crimes he committed. But perhaps, it would be enough to make it up to Sakura.

Sakura, who'd always been there for him.

Who'd always offered him comfort and solace when he would've never asked for it, regardless of how badly he needed it.

Who'd not only bore his child, but raised her on her own. She'd kept their daughter safe and she'd brought her up like a normal child.

Sasuke knew he owed her more than he'd be able to give. But maybe, in doing this deed, he'd make up for a small fraction of everything. He owed her this.

"Ah, Sasuke," Nori's smiling voice found his ears as he turned his head, looking into her apartment. The door, of course, was missing. Holding a ladle in her hand, she gestured for him to enter. "Come, come. Where are your friends?"

"They're busy." He paused for a moment as she frowned at him. "They'll be here in a little while," he explained.

"Well, I suppose that'll give me more time to make sure this tastes as good as it should," she laughed to herself as she shuffled her way into her kitchen.

As Sasuke followed her in, he looked around and couldn't help but notice one thing.

Where were all the damn cats?

"When those hoodlums ransacked this place and tore the door off, almost all of my little friends ran off," she explained, as if hearing his unspoken inquiry. "A couple are still hanging around though," she said, her tone a little more positive. "I think they're in the next room hanging out with their new friend."

Sasuke wanted to groan. Leave it to Kato Nori to start getting more cats only a few days after the disappearance of a dozen or so of them. He supposed a handful _was_ better than an apartment-full though.

Hands in his pockets he lazily walked past her kitchen area, heading toward the main room. Being greeted in the entryway by a small orange cat, he frowned as it rubbed its small head against his shin. But before he could move out of its way, he was stopped by the sound of a sharp gasp.

"Sasuke."

Head shooting up toward the sound, everything he'd just told himself about hiding his emotions and focusing on his mission and nothing more was almost completely forgotten. His resolve just about crumbling beneath his feet, like glass underneath his sandals, he could do nothing more but stare, open-mouthed at the sight before him.

Using his hand to support his weight, he leaned against the wall, afraid that if he wasn't careful, his knees would give way.

And as he stared ahead of him, like a man seeing the sun for the first time, he could only get his mouth to utter one, breathless word.

"_Sakura_."

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you all understand why I was ignoring your "Is Sakura alive?" "where is Sakura?" questions. I didn't want to give anything away; I hope you can understand.

Next chapter will be posted in a week or so, just like before, so I hope this will hold you over until then.

As for the last Naruto chapter: I can only imagine that in the next chapter, every ninja on the battlefield is going to simultaneously shit themselves. That's all I have to say.


	17. Chapter 17

"They don't want to put it off any longer," Sakura spoke as she poked around the plate of food before her. "Tsunade told me that if we wait anymore it could be bad."

"Taking the offensive may be a good idea," Sasuke agreed as he half-heartedly ate his own meal. "But at the same time we need to consider the possibility of falling into a trap. There could be a reason they haven't made any moves yet."

"But we _also_ can't risk them taking the initiative and putting us at a disadvantage by catching us off guard. We need to move first."

Sasuke gave her a sideways look but said nothing more. Sakura had just informed him on the information she'd learned only an hour before. They'd depart at dawn. That gave them just under twelve hours until the ninja were all mobilized and sent off to fight.

Tensions were impossibly high throughout the base as the word spread to more and more people. Even now, looking across the room of the small make-shift cafeteria, Sasuke could see people's alarmed expressions as they learned the information themselves. He could see the fear in almost all of them.

As he ate his potatoes, he idly wondered which of the ninja before him would most likely die.

It wasn't a comforting thought, or even anything that he enjoyed thinking about in the first place, but it was a way to pass the time. And at this point, Sasuke just wanted these next twelve hours to hurry up and pass. Even though he wasn't confident with the allied forces decision to leave the following morning, he couldn't help but be relieved and almost even eager at the thought of finally getting things started.

The faster the war started, the faster it would end.

At least that's what he hoped.

"I've been looking for you guys!" At the sound of his voice, the pair looked behind them at their approaching teammate. "Of course this is the last place I look."

"Hey Naruto," Sakura greeted with a weak smile. The smile quickly fell into a grimace and she turned her eyes back onto her plate of hardly-touched food. Sasuke watched as Naruto took a seat across from them, his hands behind his back.

As the blonde grinned at him, he couldn't help but snap at him. "What do you want?"

"I have something for you."

"Whatever it is, I don't want it."

Naruto frowned, but recovered his eagerness quickly. "Well, it's kind of a gift, so you can just take it anyway." Extending his arms out in front of him, Naruto offered Sasuke a small bundle wrapped in black cloth.

Taking the object in his hands and raising an eyebrow in confusion and annoyance, Sasuke quickly unwrapped the 'gift' and found himself staring at the object he held in his hands.

It was a headband. Engraved on the metal plating wasn't the Konoha symbol, instead the kanji "shinobi" was branded into its surface. Sasuke said nothing for a long time, instead just staring at the forehead protector in his hands. Immediately feeling uncomfortable, he refused to meet either of their eyes, instead opting to set the headband back down on the table and push it towards Naruto.

"No thanks."

"All of the Allies wear one though! And well, since you're an ally and all now, I figured you may want one—"

"I said _no._" Sasuke snapped, effectively ending the conversation.

Naruto looked disappointed for a moment, but his dissatisfaction only lasted for a few seconds. He grinned at his friend before wrapping the headband back up and tucking it under his arm. Standing up, and still grinning, he looked at his two teammates before him.

"I'll put it in your tent, in case you change your mind."

Sasuke wanted to sigh. Naruto's optimism would be the one to kill him, if the war didn't. "I won't," he said bluntly, picking at his food once more.

Ignoring the Uchiha, Naruto looked toward Sakura, "So Tsunade tells me you're going to be departing later than anyone else tomorrow?"

Sasuke looked with a frown at Sakura sitting beside him. She hadn't told him that.

"Yeah. I have to make sure that all the divisions—and all the _teams_ in the divisions—have their medical ninja fully prepped and packed. I leave after everyone else."

"We're supposed to leave first thing in the morning though," Sasuke said, annoyed. "As a _team_."

Sakura gave him an apologetic look, "I know but I was just given this job today. You guys will have to go without me, I'll catch up later in the day."

"You'll have a lot of catching up to do then," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "But I guess we'll see you then. I'm gonna go get ready for everything. I'll probably see you guy later tonight!" And with a wave and a smile, Naruto walked off and out of the room, leaving the two sitting by themselves.

"You do realize that the reason we've been training together for all this time was to get used to each other as a _team_ again," Sasuke said bitterly, not looking at her as he ate. "And now our team is going to be heading off to war missing a third of its members."

"I understand Sasuke, but you need to realize that I have a lot of responsibility here," she gestured toward the exit of the cafeteria, referring to the base as a whole, "There aren't as many medical ninja around this base as you may think." Pausing she looked at him for a long moment. "You're upset with me."

Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes and pushing his finished plate away from him. Folding his arms he refused to look at her. He wasn't going to admit it, but he _was_ a bit upset. What if he hadn't figured that out? What if he'd gotten up to leave and discovered that Sakura wouldn't be joining them? He supposed that it was better that he found out now rather than later.

The thought of her not being with them made him angry. "How the hell are we supposed to make sure you don't get your irresponsible ass killed?" he grumbled to himself.

"You don't," she said simply, "keeping myself alive is _my_ job. Not yours, not anyone else's."

Sasuke met her eyes with a hard glare and was surprised to find her glaring back at him. She was just as annoyed with this conversation as he was.

"I can take care of myself, Sasuke."

He scowled, "I never said you couldn't."

"Then stop talking as if I'm some weak little thing that needs protecting all the time," she said angrily, "I'm _not_ and you damn well know that." Standing up she grabbed her tray—with her plate of food still uneaten—and stormed off into the opposite direction.

Sasuke was mad. What right did she have to get pissed at him and storm off like some sort of child? If he'd voiced any sort of concern for her safety back when they were younger, she would've been _elated_!

He had to stop himself as he thought of their situation. He needed to remember that now, things were different. She wasn't weak and she didn't need protecting. She was different, he was different, and every person he'd known from his days as a genin in the Leaf were different as well.

Nowadays Sasuke found himself constantly reminding himself that time hadn't stopped once he left the village. People kept living, and things changed. It was just the way things were.

Just as he'd changed over the course of the past few years, so had she, and he knew he needed to acknowledge it. It was important.

So when he walked toward the edge of the base that very night, with two ninjas following him from a slight distance, he was almost surprised to see Sakura standing near the edge of the forest, waiting for him.

As he approached and noted the two ninja disperse at the sight of Sakura, he walked up beside her and stared out into the forest, much like she was doing. Looking down on her, leaning against a tree with her eyes closed and arms folded, he knew he had to say something to her. After all he had been in the wrong earlier in the day. He may be prideful, but he wasn't stupid. He could see when he was wrong.

But he knew it would be impossible for him to voice any sort of regret or apology, so instead he gently pulled on her upper arm, and when she unfolded her arms and dropped them to her side, he grabbed her hand within his.

Opening her eyes slowly she looked down at their hands before peering up at his face, a quiet, calm expression on her own.

She looked strangely peaceful for it being the night before the start of a war.

No, he'd never be able to voice any sort of apology to her, but he didn't need to speak to show her what he wanted to say to her.

Pulling her hand, he led her into the forest and toward the small clearing they'd spent the past week in during the night. This was their last night together. After this, they'd fight alongside one another and then part, never to see each other again.

As they stopped, she looked up at him with a curious look in her eye. "So, this is it, huh?" Squeezing his hands she smiled softly. "Sasuke."

Slowly she released his hand and moved both of her hands upward, lacing her fingers around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered softly to him.

Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close and kissed her.

Hard.

* * *

The last time he'd seen her was the first morning of the war. He was preparing to depart alongside Naruto and hundreds of other ninja when he saw her across the base. She was giving instructions to other medical ninja around her and handing bags and supplies to others. Pausing to wipe the back of her forehead with her hand she looked to her left, immediately meeting his eyes.

Her smile was the last thing he saw of Haruno Sakura on that morning many years ago. She never caught up to them on the battlefield.

But now there he was, standing feet away from her, unable to speak—unable to _move_.

She sat on the old, worn couch that occupied the main room. In front of the couch was a coffee table which had been pushed up against the couch; Sakura's legs were currently propped up on the table, covered in a blue blanket.

Her usually-bright hair was messy, tangled and dirty—he couldn't help but notice how she'd grown it out. Instead of stopping above her shoulders, it now rested a few inches below them.

"Ah, I see you've met my new guest?" The voice of Nori was what pulled him out of his stunned state. Turning his stiff neck he looked at his right, down at the small old woman who was currently grinning up at him.

He couldn't respond. He couldn't even move his head to nod. Suddenly he felt a little lightheaded, beginning to doubt if this was even real or not.

He watched as she shuffled over to the couch where Sakura was stationed. Smiling, she handed over a bowl of steaming soup that Sasuke hadn't noticed she even had in her grip. "Here you go, Sakura."

Sakura, who was stuck, just as frozen as Sasuke, shook herself out of her bewilderment and managed to pull a weak smile onto her face. With shaking hands she reached out for the bowl, "Thank you so much, Nori."

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of Sakura's sunken cheekbones and cracked lips. The circles under her eyes looked more like bruises, and he could still see remnants of streaks of blood and dirt across her jaw. Her shaky grip on the bowl didn't go unnoticed by his eyes either.

She looked like an absolute wreck.

"This is Sasuke," Nori said to Sakura, waving a hand toward the stunned Uchiha, still standing in the doorway. "He lives in the floor above me. Good man. Quiet though." She spoke as if he wasn't standing just a few feet away.

"I—" Sakura cleared her throat, trying to clear out the scratchiness, "I know," she said, her eyes moving from Nori's face to Sasuke's. "I know who he is."

"Well then!" she grinned at the younger woman, as if not the least bit surprised by the revelation. "I'll leave you two be then; I've still got to put the rolls in the oven!" Then with her small, quick steps, she exited the room, leaving the two ex-teammates alone together once more.

Sasuke still did not move; his grip on the doorframe tightened as Nori left the room. He felt dizzy still. He couldn't believe she was _here_. She was here and she was alive and—

Looking closer at Sakura he frowned ever-so-slightly…

She was injured, too.

Both of her hands were wrapped up tightly; a couple fingers on each hand were taped together. On the right side of her neck, almost hidden beneath her hair and the dark blanket thrown over her shoulders, he could just see the bandages that resided there. Her shoulder was wrapped in gauze too.

"She'd told me that she was having a few people over tonight," Sakura finally said, pulling Sasuke's eyes from her injuries and back to her face, "But I never expected to see you here." She said with a nervous laugh, as if trying to make light of the strange and sudden situation she was presented with.

Sasuke stared at her some more. Then, everything clicked. The old woman and her companion, the pink haired woman. Nori. Nori had been the one to lead Sakura to safety. He could almost picture her stopping the two travelling men with a stern point of a wrinkled finer and demanding their help.

"Nori, she… she helped me," Sakura said uneasily as she moved the blanket on her shoulders to cover up more of her injuries. "She found me in the forest, hurt and… and…" she swallowed nervously, tapping her fingers lightly on the warm bowl of soup she still held in her hands. "I had been on a mission and—"

"I know about Katahana."

He didn't know how he forced the words out, and he wasn't even sure as to why _those_ had to be the words he spoke first. But they'd been bubbling under the surface ever since he'd seen her in this room. Sasuke needed for her to know that _he_ knew.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Leaning forward shakily, she placed the bowl on the table in front of her, by her covered legs. Sitting back, staring at her hands in her lap, she fought back the tears that were so close to falling.

Sasuke watched her shaky hands grab at a small cloth in her lap, squeezing her fingers around it in a hard grip. It took him a full minute to realize that she wasn't holding a cloth. It was a small, red shirt. One he could only imagine was sized for a 7-year-old girl…

"Sasuke," her voice cracked as she spoke, "I'm so sorry." Head down, eyes still staring into her lap, Sasuke could see the tears fall silently down her cheeks and onto her unsteady hands. "We… we got separated and—" her breath hitched slightly, "and I tried to find her but…"

"She's safe, Sakura." He said firmly, his hand never leaving the door frame, his eyes never moving from her form.

Sakura's head shot up and eyes widened as she looked at him in shock. Tears still fell down her cheeks but her expression no longer looked anguished; Sasuke could just barely see the flicker of hope in her reddened, puffy eyes.

"She—she is?" She gripped the small shirt tighter, "How do you know? Where is she?"

"I found her myself. She's on her way to Suna."

Releasing a haggard sigh of relief, Sakura grabbed the corner of the blanket and lifted it, burying her face in the rough material. Sasuke knew she was trying to hide her tears from him. She didn't want him to see her crying. So instead of saying anything further he stood there, watching as she struggled to maintain some semblance of composure. He couldn't help but note the shaking of her shoulders.

"Sasuke," she spoke up after a couple more minutes of silence, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Sasuke," Nori called from the kitchen, interrupting their exchange, "Your ninja friends are here!"

With a look of shock, Sakura's jaw dropped as she looked past Sasuke. Turning his head he noticed the approaching forms of Shikamaru, Hanabi, and Lee. When Shikamaru opened his mouth to greet Sasuke, instead his mouth remained open, hanging there without words coming out as he stared at the other occupant of the room in awe.

"SAKURA!" The shout of Hanabi is what finally got Sasuke to move. He didn't exactly have a choice though, as the young woman almost ran him down as she sprinted to the room and moved herself to Sakura's side.

Throwing her arms over the older kunoichi, Hanabi enveloped her in a tight hug. Following closely behind, Lee stood behind Hanabi, grinning down at Sakura, even letting out a hearty laugh. Sasuke watched as the tall man leaned down and wrapped _both_ women in a hug, still laughing.

Sakura's tears never did stop falling, although now she was smiling. Smiling and laughing and hugging her fellow Leaf shinobi ever-so-tightly. Although when Hanabi accidentally brushed her hands against Sakura's left shoulder, the pink-haired woman let out a loud hiss in pain.

"Careful," she said in a weak voice. "I'm a little beat up."

"You have no idea how happy we are to see you!" Lee said, still grinning ear to ear. He looked as if he were trying hard to refrain from doing a victory dance. "Everyone has been so worried!"

"Sakura," Hanabi said, taking her shaky hands into her own, "Hana is alright. She's safe."

"I know," she laughed, another tear falling from the corner of her eye, "I know. Sasuke told me."

As if they'd forgotten he was there, Sasuke's two ecstatic teammates turned and looked at him. He wasn't standing in the doorway anymore, now he stood farther into the room, only a couple feet from the edge of the coffee table.

Noticing their awkward stares from Sasuke and back to Sakura, he knew that they were suddenly uncomfortable with the situation at hand. There was an elephant in the room that Sasuke was more than ready to completely ignore.

"It's great to see you, Sakura," Shikamaru said, directing everyone's attention toward where he stood, just to the right of Sasuke.

"Shikamaru," Sakura smiled widely, elated at the sight of her friends before her. "I'm so happy you guys are here."

"I'm going to write up a quick report," Shikamaru said, digging in his pack for some paper, "after I get this sent, I guess we'll all do some catching up." He smiled toward her again before walking out of the room.

"Who's taking Hana to Suna?" she asked, her hands still gripping the tiny shirt nervously.

"Kakashi, Kiba, Ino, and Sai," Hanabi said, moving herself so she sat on the couch beside Sakura. "We travelled with them until we reached the Land of Fire's border, then we split up from there."

"How long ago was that?" She asked quickly.

"It's only been a few days. They should be arriving within the next couple days if everything goes according to plan." Hanabi replied. Noting Sakura's obvious unease, she grabbed her hand and smiled. "They're going to protect Hana with their lives, Sakura."

"I know," she said, inhaling deeply and trying to gain control over her emotions, "That's one of the things I'm worried about."

Flashes from Sasuke's fight with the white-clad man named Masaru suddenly flew through his mind. The man with his strange and dangerous jutsu. Sasuke completely understood why she was worried.

"_Haruno Sakura put up much more of a fight than this_."

Anyone that stood in that man's way was as good as dead.

"That man," Sasuke spoke up, his voice carrying above the rest of theirs, "the one they call Masaru. He's the one that did this to you, isn't he?"

Shocked at hearing the sound of his voice, she met his eyes. "Yes," she admitted quietly, "How did you…?"

"He attacked me too," he said, trying to keep his anger in check at the thought, "while I was trying to bring Katahana back to the village."

"But you said she was okay? Right?" Sakura was suddenly panicked, hand clutching Hanabi's tightly.

"Yes," Hanabi assured her quietly, "she was unharmed."

"He thinks you're dead," Sasuke said bluntly. "He told me himself."

"Well, I probably should be, to be perfectly honest," she shook her head, closing her eyes tightly. "If Nori hadn't found me when she did, I'd be lying dead on the forest floor somewhere South of here." Inhaling deeply, she reopened her eyes, looking at Sasuke once more. "You said he attacked you?"

He merely nodded in response, not wanting to go into too much detail at the present time. She seemed stressed out enough as it was; he wasn't trying to put more stress on her already-weak body.

Thankfully, Shikamaru returned at that moment, smiling again towards Sakura before approaching her and taking a seat on the couch to her right.

"Glad you're alright," he said, giving her a small side-hug. "I take it you've been hanging around here for a reason though."

Her expression immediately fell as her eyes dropped back down to her lap. Biting her lip nervously she gripped the edge of the blue blanket and pulled it off of her legs.

Sasuke's anger only grew inside his chest.

"I haven't been able to get access to any medical supplies," she whispered, not looking at her legs as she spoke. Sasuke could understand why.

Her legs were almost ripped to shreds. Her right leg was covered in more bruises and wounds than he could count. It had been wrapped up tightly in a few places, just above her knee, just below it, and around her calf. But Sasuke could tell just by glancing at it for a moment, that there was infection.

Her left leg looked worse. It was held in place tightly with a make-shift splint; two long planks of wood were on each side of it and wrapped together in a few places with tape. Sasuke knew that it was broken, but there was something about the shape of her leg that made his stomach churn.

"I haven't been able to do much healing," she said quietly as the team examined her legs, "I've been really sick the past couple weeks. I can hardly muster up enough chakra to help with even the smaller lacerations."

"We need to find you some supplies, and soon," Shikamaru said, concerned. He wasn't an idiot; he knew when things looked bad.

"It's not finding supplies that I'm worried about, it just getting medicine…" Sakura looked at her legs quickly, cringing at the sight of her own mangled limbs, before covering them back up with the blanket. "If the infection spreads… I might not have legs to walk on soon…" She sounded as if she were ashamed of herself; as if her inability to heal her wounds was her own fault.

"Does she at least have a first aid kit lying around?" Hanabi asked, looking toward the kitchen, "I mean, my medical ninjutsu is mediocre at best, but I can definitely help a _little_ bit."

Sakura smiled, "Thanks Hanabi. I'd appreciate that. But we actually just used the last of her supplies yesterday morning. We don't even have bandages anymore."

"I have some," Sasuke spoke up, turning toward the doorway and swiftly walking out of the room. Quickly making his way by Nori he walked out the doorway and ran up the stairs as soon as he was out of sight.

He was in his room and in his closet in seconds. While out training in the woods for hours a day, he was bound to get a scrape or gash every now and then. Finding the small kit, he frowned at the lack of supplies he really had, but it would be fine for the next few days. At least until they found real medical supplies.

Walking back into the apartment only a minute later, he strode straight into the room and handed Hanabi the black case wordlessly. Stepping back and folding his arms across his chest, he looked at her pointedly, waiting for her to start doing at least _something_.

"If you could help me change my bandages after dinner, that'd be great," Sakura said to Hanabi, drawing her attention away from the man standing in front of her. Watching Sakura with a scrutinizing stare, Sasuke knew that she was only speaking to keep him from snapping at the young Hyuuga.

Throwing him a small glance, she pursed her lips and quickly broke eye contact, leaning forward to take the bowl of soup in her hands once more.

Inhaling deeply, she looked up at the doorway and smiled, "It smells wonderful, Nori."

As if appearing out of nowhere, Sasuke looked down, the woman suddenly beside him, with a smile on her face and a tray in her hands.

"You're too kind, deary," she smiled softly before turning to the rest of the ninja and holding the tray out toward them. "Come now everyone, eat, eat."

Each of them voicing their gratitude—all but Sasuke—they each grabbed a bowl from the tray. Then laying a small plate of rolls down on the coffee table, she let out a light laugh. "Dig in! I know you ninja eat a lot so don't be afraid to ask for seconds!" Turning toward Sasuke she looked up at him and pointed at him. "I'm going into town for a little bit. I haven't been able to get cat food all week!" She complained with a frown. "My poor little friends are getting tired of eating table scraps. I'll be back in a little while."

With a small wave to the occupants of the room, the woman grabbed a light jacket and headed out of the room and out of the apartment.

"Nori's been wonderful," Sakura said, watching the woman's retreating form.

"How on earth did she find you?" Shikamaru asked, placing his bowl down on front of him and turning toward her with a serious expression.

Sakura grimaced as her gaze wandered, settling in the bowl of soup in her lap. "It was almost a week after the attack. Six days I think? At least I'm pretty sure," she shook her head. "I'd only had enough chakra left in the first couple days to stop the bleeding in my leg and my shoulder," she gestured with her right arm to her left shoulder, resting her hand gently on it. "It had been dislocated and I had a kunai get lodged into the bone, but I was able to heal that more than anything." She smiled wryly, "Still hurts though," she joked.

"I lost consciousness in the middle of the night, after the fight, and when I woke up, it was just past sunrise. I was able to drag myself back to our campsite. I stayed there for three days, but after I drank the last of the water, I knew that I had to move or I'd die." She gestured toward her legs, "I knew I couldn't get far, but I tried limping around using a couple sticks to support my weight. I traveled like that for almost two days, but by the third day I was basically done for."

"When did Nori find you?" Hanabi asked.

"I had been going in and out of consciousness all day. I knew that if I didn't get food or water or even shelter sometime soon I'd be a goner. It was the middle of the day when I heard her," she smiled widely, thinking back to the memory, "I thought I was hallucinating at first, but she splashed some water on my face which woke me up a little bit. She sat with me for a couple hours and just started talking to me," she let out a light laugh, "as if we were old friends just hanging out; not strangers who met in the middle of the woods. She gave me a bit of water, and just before sunset she stood up and told me she'd be right back."

Sakura took in a shaky breath as she talked. "I was scared she was going to leave me alone for good but before I could even say anything she was already walking off into the forest. She came back ten minutes later with these two men."

"The hikers Tenten found in the Hidden Stone," Shikamaru mumbled to himself. At Sakura's curious expression, he explained. "Tenten was with her team in the Stone Village when she overheard those guys talking about their little 'adventure' with you two. That's how we knew to come this was and look for you some more."

"Well, it's good to see that they finally got to where they were going," Sakura smiled sadly at Shikamaru before looking away. "I owe them a lot. One man carried me while another carried a few of my things. They traveled with us for quite some time before we got to the outskirts of the village. It was in the middle of the night I think?" She shook her head at the fuzzy memory. "All I'm sure of is that I lost consciousness around that time. Once I saw the village, I knew things would be okay."

"So you've been here since last Wednesday?"

"As far as I know," she shrugged. "I've sort of lost track of the days."

"Can't blame you there," Shikamaru gestured toward the bowl in her hands. "Eat up. You need to gain some strength back if we're going to get you all healed and better." He smiled softly, "You don't want us to have to carry you to Suna, do you?"

Smiling widely, tears in her eyes, she shook her head gently. "I'm so happy she's alright."

Shikamaru patted her hand, "We are too. And we're glad _you're_ alright."

The next hour passed slowly. Hanabi wasted no time filling Sakura in on what had been happening in the village during her time away. Sasuke watched from a slight distance, having moved himself off to the far side of the room as to avoid any sort of conversation. He hardly noticed when the bowl of soup in his hands went cold. Placing it on a nearby table he left it there before eventually walking out of the room without a word.

They'd need a place to stay for the next couple nights, and although he knew Nori would be _more_ than happy to house them all, he knew it was unrealistic. Her apartment was nowhere big enough to house all four extra ninja. Besides, he still had a perfectly good apartment as well.

Standing in his doorway, he frowned.

Well, maybe not perfectly good…

His door had remained on its hinges, but the entire place was even more of a wreck than it was when he and Katahana abandoned it days ago. The shattered glass was still all over the floor, and now the couch was even flipped on its side. Taking a few steps into the apartment, Sasuke grimaced.

"At least they left the kitchen in one piece," he heard Shikamaru say behind him, "for the most part."

He'd heard the man following him up the stairs but refused to acknowledge his presence. He didn't want to be bothered at the moment. He was still trying to absorb everything that had happened in the past couple of hours.

The kitchen did seem to be spared though. The only type of mess was just a few containers of food thrown about, and a couple of shattered plates lay on the counter and in the sink.

Wordlessly, Sasuke grabbed a broom from a nearby closet and began cleaning up the jagged mess. He'd almost finished removing all the shards of glass from the kitchen when he paused and turned around. "What are you doing?"

Shikamaru was bent over, picking up larger pieces of glass and bits of wood and tossing them in the trashcan behind him. "Helping."

"Don't."

"You know just as well as I do that we'll need to use your apartment for the next few days. And let's be honest here," he tossed another handful of glass into the bin, "I'm not about to cut my feet up all over this floor."

Sasuke had to repress the urge to yell at him. To tell him to get out and leave him the fuck alone. He wanted nothing more than to be able to do that at that very moment. But a tiny thought stopped him.

_You have to get used to people helping_.

Biting his tongue he turned back around. Fine, he could help. But that didn't mean Sasuke was going to acknowledge him. Or thank him.

"This week's going to be a damn drag," Shikamaru muttered to himself.

Sasuke pretended not to hear it.

* * *

When the two men returned to Nori's apartment, they were greeted by the old woman who stood with a grin on her face and a bag of cat food in her hands.

"Whoever the shop keepers are must've fled when this place was torn up," she commented as she poured food into a small red bowl, "but I left the money on the counter, so I should be good."

Shikamaru smirked and Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked toward the main room.

Hanabi was rifling through the first aid kit, with Sakura peering over her shoulder. Lee was currently sitting in the corner of the room, arms folded across his chest and head down.

"Is he sleeping?" Shikamaru asked, walking in behind Sasuke.

"Shh!" Sakura lifted a finger up to her lips, demanding their silence. "He's been out for a few minutes, so just let him sleep," she whispered softly.

Sasuke wanted to scoff. There was no way he would be quiet just to let the damn annoying man catch a few minutes of sleep. On the other hand, it wasn't like he was going to be saying much—if anything at all—to begin with. Leaning against the far wall he positioned himself so he'd be able to watch the two women carefully.

Shikamaru also disregarded Sakura's request as well, walking up to Lee and kicking him lightly on the leg.

"Lee. Get up."

The man jumped slightly as he awoke suddenly, looking up with tired eyes at their team captain. "Huh?"

"I have some extra blankets I can loan you all," Nori said, walking into the room with an armful of them. "I don't have much space though. There's this room and that's about it."

"That's alright," Shikamaru said, smiling at the woman as she handed him a blanket, "we're going to be using Sasuke's apartment too, just so you don't get overwhelmed by our presence here."

Sasuke shot him a glare. He knew they'd have to use their apartment, but the fact that Shikamaru was basically _volunteering_ him to accommodate them irked him.

"Hanabi, you'll be sleeping here, but the rest of us," he gestured toward Lee and Sasuke, "will be upstairs." Turning toward Lee, he roughly threw a blanket in his direction. Removing the fabric from his face, Lee pouted slightly as he stood. "Go upstairs and make a left." Shikamaru instructed the man. "We all need to get some rest after today."

"What about you?" Lee asked from the doorway, turning back to look at his team.

"I'm going to write up one more report to send back to Konoha in a little while," he waved a hand dismissively. "I'll be up later."

Sasuke stood, his feet planted firmly in the ground. He _dared_ Shikamaru to try and dismiss him as well. He may be able to order Lee around, but this was Sasuke's apartment they'd be using. This was _his_ neck of the woods. He knew when he took this mission that he'd need to follow orders, but he needed to let it be known that he wouldn't be pushed around like a child.

But when Shikamaru said nothing more on the matter—almost ignoring Sasuke altogether—the Uchiha narrowed his eyes, watching his back as he turned toward the two women on the couch once more.

"You could've at least let him sleep for a little longer," Sakura said quietly, watching Lee exit the room, and ultimately, the apartment. "He looked dead on his feet practically."

"I don't want him to be in here while Hanabi tries to work on healing you a bit better."

Sakura winced, nodding in understanding. Sasuke watched them converse, an eyebrow raised. Why didn't he want Lee in the room? Was there some sort of issue with his presence?

"Let's get this over with," Sakura mumbled, sitting herself up a bit straighter and cracking her neck. Her eyes met Sasuke's for a quick moment before quickly fluttering away to focus back on Hanabi.

It was at that moment when it hit him. "You're going to reset her leg, now?"

Hanabi looked up at him, as if shocked that he'd even spoken. Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "The sooner the better."

"We need more supplies."

"We can't wait any longer," Hanabi said quietly, holding some tape and gauze in one hand. Her other had already begun to glow a light green.

"They're right," Sakura admitted softly, "if we wait any longer than it'll just get worse." She met his eyes hesitantly as she spoke, "We'll have to worry about the infection later. We have to realign the bones first. If I let them heal on their own anymore, it'll only be harder to reset them later on."

"I know how it works," Sasuke said sternly, almost cutting her off.

"I never said you didn't," she replied quickly, obviously trying to avoid an argument, "I would've attempted this by myself days ago if I could. And now that you're all here, it has to be done now."

Sasuke stared back at her for a few seconds before breaking eye contact, turning his head away. He could see Shikamaru and Hanabi meeting eyes with one another. Their discomfort was palpable. Taking a few steps back, he leaned his back against the wall and chose to remain silent, watching his ex-comrades before him.

He knew she was right, but at the same time he was aware of the fact that without proper medical supplies, resetting a bone was a painful and grueling process. He'd first learned to reset a bone when he was 14. He'd been particularly angry one day and had lashed out at Orochimaru one too many times.

After the man broke his arm in two places, he ordered Kabuto not to treat him; as punishment of course. Sasuke had tried toughing it out for a couple days, but after it was apparent that Kabuto wasn't going to help him any time soon, he was left with no other choice but to learn how to treat his own injuries.  
Of course after resetting his arm—vomiting and passing out in the process due to the sheer pain—he awoke to Kabuto kneeling over him. The man grinned sadistically as he finally mended Sasuke's broken arm. He'd later left Sasuke still lying on the floor after instructing him to 'keep him temper under control' or else his assistance would come less and less.

"Have you ever done this before?"

Hanabi shook her head at Shikamaru's question. "Not anything like this. I've only mended a bone once, but that was back in training."

"I remember that," Sakura smiled at the girl, "you did well that day."

"Only because you were helping me."

"And I'm here to help you this time, too."

"This is different though," Hanabi grimaced, "because you're the patient. You can't help me like you did before."

"Well I don't want to sit by being useless here," Shikamaru said, sitting himself on the coffee table beside Sakura's legs and leaning forward. "What can I do to help?"

"When she starts working, you'll actually need to help hold me down." Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly as he stared back at the pink-haired woman. "When she starts resetting bones and healing them, it's going to be painful, so no matter how hard I try not to, I'm going to try and move." She shrugged, "It's just the body's natural response to pain. Pain equals bad. The body tries to avoid bad things on principle."

"Yeah, I get it," Shikamaru held up a hand to silence her as he shook his head. "Just, tell me what to do."

Sasuke watched them interact over the next few minutes very carefully, listening intently as Sakura described, in-depth, the extent of the breakage in her leg.

Four different breaks. A small bone in her ankle, her fibula, and two separate breaks in her femur—one higher up near her hip, and the other directly in the center of the bone. The two breaks in the lower half of the leg wouldn't be the issue. It was the femur that he was worried about. If they weren't careful, they may damage the femoral artery. If that were to happen, she could be dead within minutes.

Watching as both of Hanabi's hands starting glowing, he leaned forward involuntarily to watch. Her right hand hovered over Sakura's ankle, the green glow intensifying. He noted Sakura wince in pain, but that was the only sign of discomfort she showed.

"Good," she said, watching Hanabi carefully, "now I don't think this break is as bad as the others, so if you just concentrate you chakra on the breakage point for a few minutes, the bone may just shift back into place." She looked up to Shikamaru as Hanabi went to work. "When she tries to fix the next break, I'll need you to hold my leg here," she grabbed one of his hands, placing it just below her knee, "and here." She placed his other just above where Hanabi was currently working.

"Wouldn't it be wise to do some tonight and then some in a couple days?" Shikamaru asked uneasily. Sasuke wasn't accustomed to seeing him so unsettled, but he supposed that anyone who was unfamiliar with medical ninjutsu would be a little hesitant with assisting.

Sakura smiled at him and squeezed his wrists lightly with her hands before releasing him. "Don't worry. This is the best idea. Better now than later." She let out a forced laugh, "I'd much rather get it all out of the way at once, too."

"You were right Sakura," Hanabi looked up at her with pale eyes, smiling, "we won't need to do much for this one. I'll be done in just a minute."

"Good," she nodded, placing her hands atop Shikamaru's once again, aligning them on her legs. "Now when she shifts her hands upward, don't let go. No matter how much I jump or try to pull away. You need to hold tight," she shot him a stern look, not breaking eye contact until he nodded back to her.

Less than a minute later, Hanabi's hands quickly shifted up her leg, pausing midway over her calf. Sasuke watched as her right hand remained illuminated while her left returned to normal, gripping Sakura's leg just above Shikamaru's own hand.

And before Sasuke could prepare himself he heard a sudden _'crack'_ resonate throughout the room, followed immediately by a pained yell.

Sasuke watched as Sakura worked to quickly muffle her cry. She grabbed the edge of one of the blankets and was currently biting down on its corner; hard. Her thin hand gripped the fabric tightly, her grasp on the material, shaky and weak.

"Almost done this one," he heard Hanabi utter quickly, as if trying to reassure Sakura that her pain was almost over. But Sasuke knew better than that.

The femur was the hardest bone in the human body. Breaking it was extremely hard to do, and healing it was just as difficult. Not to mention painful.

He frowned as he watched Sakura blink back tears. Releasing her grip on the blanket, she let the fabric fall unceremoniously from her mouth as she let out a long breath. "Two down, two to go." Her voice was as unsteady as her hands.

Sasuke watched as she once again realigned Shikamaru's hands—now, one was underneath her knee and one was just above it, resting on the top of her lower thigh. Cringing he listened as Sakura instructed him to pull the lower half of her leg upon Hanabi's instruction. Sasuke watched as Shikamaru carefully gripped her leg. He could see the nervous sweat drip down the back of the man's neck and underneath his collar.

It happened quicker than he thought it would.

One second, Hanabi was working diligently on Sakura's calf, and the next, she'd shifted upward and uttered the word 'now' in the same instant. He'd witnessed Shikamaru hesitate for a split second before pulling roughly on Sakura's leg the same time Hanabi pulled her leg toward her slightly, locking the bone back in place.

Sakura's scream was what nearly undid his composure.

It wasn't just a scream; it was a choked cry that came from the pit of Sakura's chest. The tears that she'd worked so hard at keeping under control fell from her eyes at the same moment, spilling over her cheeks, staining Sakura's pained expression with salty trails of moisture.

She bit down on the blanket again, letting out another low moan through gritted teeth.

"Almost done," he heard Hanabi say softly, "almost done."

And then with one final move, Hanabi placed her hands higher up on Sakura's leg before once more saying 'now', and pulling downward along with Shikamaru.

With the final crack ringing through Sasuke's ears he didn't make a move until he saw Sakura's back arch in pain and hand fly toward Hanabi. Before he could think, he shot beside her, holding her wrist tightly in his grasp to keep her from knocking Hanabi away. He knew it was just a reflex, but if Sakura had succeeded in swiping away the girl, it would've not only injured the only available medic but also hindered the entire grueling healing process they were currently going through.

Her eyes closed tightly and mouth clamped on the blanket as she tried arching her back once more to yank her leg away from the pain. Sasuke acted quickly once more, halting her movements by wrapping his other arm around her shoulders roughly, and pushing downward, keeping her planted in her spot on the couch.

"I'm sorry, almost done. Almost done, Sakura. I'm sorry."

Hanabi's repetitive mumblings became the background noise to Sasuke's world as he focused on the woman he held in his grasp.

It'd been eight years. Eight long years since he'd seen, heard, or touched her. And now here she was, squirming in pain beneath his grasp, uttering nothing but muffled cries and pained yelps.

Her hands were currently both gripping Sasuke's forearm, nails digging into the exposed skin as she tried hard to fight the pain. If it weren't for her sickly-looking state, her lack of strength alone would be enough to tip Sasuke off to the fact that she was anything but alright.

If she were at her full strength, Sasuke would have a crushed arm in his possession currently. Instead, he watched as her weak grip on his arm lessened in ferocity with each passing minute. Her nails hadn't even drawn blood.

Tearing his eyes away from her hands on his arm, he looked down only to spot a messy, pink head of hair. Sakura's head was turned down, her chin pressed to her chest and her hair obscuring her face from view. Even with his firm grasp, he could still feel her shoulders shake with sobs she was working to keep at bay.

"It's okay, Sakura. It's almost over. Almost done."

Sasuke then let his eyes wander back over toward Hanabi and Shikamaru. The man currently sat straight up, hands in his lap as he watched with a pained expression as the Hyuuga worked. Hanabi was fighting back tears herself, still uttering useless apologies and phrases of comfort. Sasuke knew that none of those words were reaching Sakura's ears. It was useless to even try.

The only thing he could do was give her shoulders a few light squeezes. He had never seen Sakura in this type of pain before. To see her in such a state made Sasuke feel almost sick. With his head pounding and chest aching with emotions, he forced them out of his head as he focused on the woman in his grasp. He couldn't afford to get distracted; especially by silly emotion.

By the time Sakura lifted her head, Hanabi was already beginning to arrange her leg back into the make-shift splint they'd created. With one hand, she released her grip on Sasuke and swiped at her face. Her head was turned away from Sasuke as she brushed away the tears that were undoubtedly all over her face. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed and she was still facing the other way with a hand covering her eyes, when he realized something.

She was purposefully avoiding his gaze.

As he realized this, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Turning to glance at the disturbance, he took note of Nori standing behind him, a serious look spread across her face. She wordlessly held out a cold, damp cloth to him. Taking it with an unsure hand, he watched as she walked around the table to the other side, handed Hanabi another blanket, and left the room once again.

Looking down at the cloth in his hand, he stared at it blankly. He knew what Nori wanted him to do with it, but the thought of remaining in Sakura's presence any longer—let alone doing something as intimate as wiping her face with a cloth—made Sasuke begin to squirm in his seat.

So after Hanabi draped the additional blanket overtop Sakura, gently tucking its edges around the older woman, Sasuke roughly handed her the cloth before removing his arm from Sakura's shoulders and standing up.

Taking one final look at the scene before him, he turned away, walked out of the room, out of the apartment, and toward his own.

Sakura had only lifted her head once he'd stood up, but even so, she still had refused to even glance in his direction.

Walking up the stairs to his apartment, he paused only once to stare at the lanky taijustu expert who stood at the top of the stairs, staring down with a frown on his face. Of course no one would have been able to sleep through _that_ noise.

Ignoring Lee, Sasuke walked around him and stepped into his apartment. Walking into his room he closed the door and stared at the bed before him.

Before he could even approach the bed, he closed his eyes tightly, thinking back to Katahana. The last time he'd been in this room had been with her. She'd been crying and he had been telling her that he'd protect her. That things would be okay.

It was only now, with Sakura a floor below him, safe and sound, when he started to really believe in his words.

* * *

**A/N**: This may be the longest chapter so far. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you all for your patience regarding Sakura's appearance. But don't worry, I won't have her disappear again; she's in it for the long haul now. And thanks again to all those who reviewed, it's such a lovely thing to see people enjoying my writing.

From here on out I'll work to try and keep this story updated on a weekly basis. I'll most likely be posting chapters around Thursday or Friday nights.

About chapter 631 (SPOILERS): So I've decided that Sasuke and I are in a fight again. Like... Sasuke... I'm happy to see you and I'm glad you're back; really, I am. But you need to shut the fuck up and just let the whole Hokage business be Naruto's thing. No go fight alongside your old team and help them with this damn war.

ALSO, I've created a Naruto blog on Tumblr for me to rant and cry on. My url is **_babyakamaru_ **so feel free to look me up, message me, and cry with me about being in love with fictional characters. You know, normal, everyday things like that.


	18. Chapter 18

He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, and it wasn't the fact that he tried anyways that made him frustrated; it was the fact that even though they'd succeeded in their mission for the most part, his stress was still as potent as ever.

With his team's discovery of Sakura in this tiny broken down town, he'd figured that he'd finally be able to calm himself. Possibly even get some rest, too. But he found it as difficult to sleep as it was when he was in the forest with Katahana, on the way to Konoha with an unknown amount of people pursuing them.

He was frustrated because he still didn't know _why_ he couldn't sleep.

After five hours of lying in bed, he decided that enough was enough and quickly dressed himself. Opening the door, he took note of the two grown men sleeping in his living room. Shikamaru was curled up under a blanket on the couch and Lee was sprawled across the floor, his blanket seemingly long forgotten by his feet.

He idly wondered how they'd decided who got the floor, but after he thought about it for a few seconds, he realized that he didn't exactly care.

Sasuke didn't know how, or even why he decided to go back to the apartment, but by the time he realized what he was doing, he'd already walked through the doorway of Nori's apartment

He knew immediately that all the inhabitants of the apartment were fast asleep, and peering around the corner and into the main room, his thoughts were confirmed.

Sakura was still on the couch with her feet propped up on the table before her, although she was shifted farther down the couch, allowing Hanabi to occupy the rest of the available space. They were both asleep and for a quick moment Sasuke frowned.

Why was no one keeping watch?

It was standard protocol for missions when they were sleeping out in the forest, and although they may not have been in the forest, they were still on a mission—a very dangerous mission. They couldn't take any chances.

Silently, he moved into the room and toward the window on the far wall. Frowning at the lack of glass in the frame, he watched the curtains blow lazily in the wind. He seated himself below the window in the corner of the room, leaning his back up against the corner, so he'd be able to see the entire room, and its entrances, before him.

Letting out a quiet breath of air, he sighed. Neither woman on the couch looked comfortable. Hanabi was curled up in a ball and Sakura's head was just lying limply on her shoulder as she slept in her upright position.

He remained sitting like that for a couple more hours, until the first signs of light shining through the window made their appearance. Sasuke was unaware when it happened, but the next thing he knew, her looked up with tired eyes to see Nori walking away from him. A blanket was now spread across his sitting form.

Narrowing his eyes he struggled as his vision adjusted to the suddenly-bright room. Noting the chirping of birds in the distance and the warmth he felt seeping in through the window, he knew he must've fallen asleep.

He watched quietly as Nori walked over toward Sakura and smiled down at her. "How are you feeling, dear?" Her words were quiet and kind, alerting Sasuke to the fact that he wasn't the only one awake.

"I've been better." Sasuke knew she was trying to make a joke, but with her weak scratchy voice hardly able to form the words, it sounded like a pitiful admission. "Just a bit achy."

Sasuke knew she was underselling her pain but he remained silent in his spot, choosing not to speak up.

"I'll try bringing out some crackers later," the woman smiled, picking up an empty glass off the table and taking it with her as she walked. "Maybe today will be the day."

Sakura's smile was forced, but Nori accepted it regardless. When the old woman left the room, Sasuke held his gaze on the young woman before him. As Nori left the room, she let out a long breath, wincing as she did so. Using her hands—which were just as shaky as the day before—she tried to readjust her position on the couch to sit herself upright more.

It wasn't until she let out a barely-audible cry of pain when he moved.

"Hold still," he said softly as he approached. Sakura jumped noticeably in shock at the sound of his voice approaching out of nowhere. Staring at him with wide eyes, she soon took in a deep breath, recovering from her shock, before giving him a pained smile.

"I hope we didn't wake you."

Sasuke ignored her words as he leaned toward her. He wrapped one arm around her back, offering the other to her for her to hold onto. He waited for her to grasp it, which she did uneasily, but when she did he lifted her slightly, shifting her into a more comfortable, more upright position.

He frowned. She was much too light.

"Thank you," she whispered softly as she rearranged the blankets on top of her.

"What's so special about crackers?" Sasuke said quickly, trying to steer the conversation into a direction in which he could control. Awkwardly, he released her shoulders and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Oh," Sakura apparently hadn't been expecting that question from him. "Well, you see I… I haven't been able to keep down solid foods." Her eyes fluttered away from his gaze as she spoke. "It just… doesn't work."

"You need medicine."

Sakura nodded, "I need a couple different antibiotics and a few different serums for my wounds."

"Which?"

"I already gave Shikamaru the full list of what I need," she said, not once flinching at his commanding tone. "Today he's going to travel back to the Hidden Stone to find as much as possible," she looked to her left as she softly spoke. "I don't know if they're all going though. I know Hanabi is."

"I'm staying."

She allowed herself a small half-smile, turning her head as Nori re-entered the room, a glass of water in her hand.

"Good morning, Sasuke," she greeted him with a wrinkled smile as she handed the glass to Sakura. "I'll be fixing up breakfast soon. Any requests?" He merely grunted in reply, pursing his lips and crossing his arms. "Figured as much," she shrugged to herself, "After breakfast I might head out and see if I can find anyone around with an open shop. Need to stock up on food. You want to try some toast in a little?" She asked Sakura, looking down on her with another smile.

"It's worth a try," Sakura grimaced with an indifferent shrug of her own. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me at all dear. So stop doing it!" And with a wink and another smile, she left the room again.

"You don't need to stay if you don't want to." Sakura looked up at Sasuke, meeting his eyes briefly before taking a few sips from the glass in her grip.

"And if someone finds you here? Someone who knows who you are?" Sasuke glared at her. "It's not as if you can protect yourself right now."

"That's not going to happen—"

"And how do you know that—"

"Because I'm not who they're after, Sasuke!"

At the sound of Hanabi stirring beside her, Sakura shut her mouth tightly, biting her lip uneasily as her eyes welled up with tears once more. She'd only said a handful of things to him since they'd arrived the night before, and they were already fighting with one another again.

"I'm…" her voice trailed off from her previous shout into a pained whisper, "I'm not who they want." She looked up at him, blinking back the tears as she met his gaze with a hard one of her own. "You know who they're looking for and—and it's not me, Sasuke. You _know_ that."

Before she said anything more, she bit her lips once more, watching as Hanabi yawned and stretched her arms high above her. Quickly putting on a smile for the girl, Sakura greeted her, immediately ignoring Sasuke, and initiating conversation with the Hyuuga girl.

Taking a few steps back, he found himself back at his previous spot by the window. Hands still in his pockets, he leaned back and chose to simply resume watching the room before him. It wasn't long after when Shikamaru entered the room, with Lee following close behind.

He greeted the woman with a polite 'good morning' before shooting a quick, curious glance in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke just stared back, expression blank, giving nothing away. Instead he chose to stand back and observe his teammates in front of him.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when Shikamaru spoke of them leaving in a short amount of time, when he finally moved from his spot in the room.

"Will you be coming, Sasuke?" Lee asked as Sasuke passed him.

Sasuke threw a quick glance over his shoulder, not halting his movements. "No."

"Then, you will be staying with Sakura, correct?" The man asked, a little unsure. "Because we will be leaving soon and I am sure that one of us should stay behind—"

"I'm staying."

"We're leaving soon, Sasuke," Shikamaru chimed in, causing Sasuke to finally stop walking and turn to face the group. "Where exactly are you going?"

He frowned, "Out." Turning back toward the doorway again, he paused. "When are you leaving?"

"In about an hour."

"I'll be back in an hour then."

And with his dismissive words, he left the room, the apartment, and even the building. His feet just kept moving, one step after the next.

It wasn't until he'd been walking for around twenty minutes, now surrounded by trees and greenery instead of broken buildings and shattered glass, when he stopped moving.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he allowed his lungs to fill to their capacity with air. Letting it out in a quick breath of air he opened his eyes, sharingan glaring out into the forest.

Igniting the sky, he released a great fireball, setting the leaves of the nearby trees ablaze and causing the birds in the nearby area to flee noisily. Charging his arm up with chidori he took out every nearby object. Trees, shrubs, boulders. Slashing and stabbing and hitting.

He'd never wanted this.

Years ago he'd told himself that he'd never settle down. He'd never fall in love and get married and he would never ever bring another life into this world. He needed to set himself apart from people. He needed to hold them all at a safe distance.

He'd never wanted a child.

When he was a child himself, he lost his entire family. Every single person in his life that he held dear to him vanished in a cloud of smoke and pool of blood. The pain he experienced then, as a child, was unlike any pain he's ever endured in his life.

Then, he grew older, his plans for revenge grew clearer, and he created a goal for himself. To destroy the one who'd destroyed his life. Even though that very person was once one of those he held dear.

A precious person turned into a sworn enemy.

As far as his young self was concerned, Itachi had all but died along with the rest of the Uchiha clan that day.

But then, he was placed on a team upon graduation from the Academy. And things started changing again. He started fighting not just for his own personal gain, but for the safety and wellbeing of others. He started to care about people again. His team, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura, they were beginning to become something else other than a team.

They soon grew into people he held very dear to him.

But day after day, mission after mission, close call after close call, he always ran the risk of losing one of them. The risk of one of his teammates dying during a mission was all-too-common for ninja—especially young ones.

Sasuke had once heard, as a child, two men speaking of the average life span of a ninja. Nineteen years old.

He'd never wanted to care about anyone else except himself.

He'd once vowed when he was younger, to never allow the people he held close to him to be harmed. He vowed to always protect them. He never wanted to lose his precious people ever again. At the time, he never would've imagined that he'd be the one to abandon them. That _he'd _be the one to hurt them. Sasuke had promised to keep any harm from coming to them, yet he'd been the one to attack, insult, and threaten their lives; the lives he'd sworn to protect.

He'd never wanted them to forgive him. Especially so easily.

A part of him even yearned for the ability to see the world through their eyes. To know what it was like to forgive, and to love unconditionally. But with love, came pain. He could never allow himself to love another human being. To know the love of another meant to know the pain that accompanied it.

And as Sasuke knew. Pain was a sign of weakness.

Demolishing a boulder with a crackling fist, he stopped his attack. Allowing the lightening to die down and his fury to subside.

He'd never asked for this. Any of this. But he'd never asked for anything in his life. Sasuke had never truly wanted anything that wasn't power or revenge.

So while Sasuke had never wanted to be close to another human being for the rest of his life, he realized, as he turned back toward the village, he'd never really gotten what he wanted anyways.

He spent years having his future, his whole life, planned out and chosen for him. He never had a choice in anything up until he'd turned to the Allies back during the war. That was when he started making his own decisions; doing things _he_ wanted to do.

As he made the trek back toward his teammates, he let his head fall, allowing his hair to fall into his face.

Now, with a daughter he'd never asked for, he felt as if he were a child again. His life completely out of his control. His path chosen for him.

For the first time since he'd embarked on this journey, he wasn't so sure he knew what to do.

About Katahana.

About Sakura.

About his own life.

As he looked up at the sky, raindrops beginning to fall from the gray clouds above, he realized he hardly knew who he was.

Uchiha Sasuke had been an innocent child and then a tainted one. He'd become a troubled boy, and then an avenger. He'd become a missing-nin and a traitor to his village. He'd been a threat, a criminal, a monster.

Then, when he was finally able to decide for himself, to choose what he wanted to do, _who_ he wanted to _be_… he passed the opportunity up. He then became Uchiha Sasuke, the traveler. The nameless wandering man who had no clan, no home, no purpose.

Pausing in the doorway to Nori's apartment, he watched Nori shuffle around, toast and sausage and eggs being brought into the main room plateful by plateful.

Perhaps…

Taking a step into the apartment, he made his way into the main room with slow, heavy steps. Standing in the doorway, his eyes scanned the room. Meeting their intended destination, he allowed himself to stare with a curious expression.

He watched as Sakura let out a light laugh at something Lee said, before turning her head and meeting his eyes with her own. She offered him a small smile, her gaze soft as she took in the sight before her.

Perhaps, he could find a purpose.

So when Sakura called out his name, urging him to join them, he couldn't stop his feet from moving forward.

He _needed_ a purpose.

* * *

"It's my fault."

The two had been sitting in the room in near-silence for almost three hours. When the rest of his team had departed, with the list of medicines and supplies needed in hand, he'd chosen to sit on the opposite side of her at the far end of the couch.

Sakura hadn't been successful in keeping down the toast. Minutes after they'd departed she'd vomited over the side of the couch and into the bin that had been placed there, just for that purpose. Sasuke had cringed, nose turning up at the smell of the bile, but he'd remained seated, watching her from a slight distance.

After Nori walked into the room, scolding Sakura for apologizing for throwing-up, Sakura rested a weak head on the back of the couch, head turned towards the window and away from Sasuke.

She hadn't said much to him, and he hadn't said much either. He'd asked her if she was okay, and she'd nodded and told her that she'd be fine. That had been the extent of their communication.

But the sudden urge to say something overtook him as his mind wandered back to where their previous conversation had left off.

"_You know who they're looking for…"_

"It's all my fault," he repeated as Sakura stared at him, a confused expression on her face.

"I'm not sure I'm following…" she said, puzzled at his words. "What's your fault?"

He opened his mouth to speak but soon after closed it, biting down on his tongue in frustration. This was his way of apologizing since he'd never be able to do it properly.

"All of this," he gestured toward her legs with a wave of the hand, "all of this is my fault." He spat out the words angrily, hands clenching and unclenching by his sides.

Sakura's expression softened and her gaze became sympathetic. "None of this is your fault, Sasuke. None of it."

"She's being targeted since she's an Uchiha." He spoke slowly through gritted teeth as he willed himself to keep his temper in check. "She's being targeted because I'm—"

He didn't know why he found himself unable to say it out loud. Sakura watched silently as he sat, shaking in anger and frustration, fists clenched.

"Because I'm her father," he said quietly after a few minutes of silence, "that's why this is all happening. It's _my fault_."

Sakura scoffed, "With that logic, you would be better off blaming Katahana herself for all of this." Sakura glared at him with all the malice she could muster up. Sasuke found himself taken aback by the sudden display of anger from the injured woman.

"That's not the same thing."

"You're blaming yourself for this because of who your family is? Sasuke, the sharingan isn't something you chose to have. It's part of your family. It's your damn kekkei genkai," her voice rose as she spoke. Her anger was increasing, "You cannot blame yourself anymore than you can blame her. It just doesn't make sense!"

"It was stupid of me to do what I did back then," he muttered quietly, causing Sakura to quiet her shouting and look at him carefully. "I should've—_we_ should've been more careful. That whole week was just one big lapse of judgment. It was a mistake—"

Sasuke didn't exactly know how she managed it, but when his face jerked roughly to the side, his eyes widened and mouth hung open slightly in shock.

She'd slapped him.

Lifting a hand he probed his cheek with his fingertips, the stinging feeling still present. He could almost picture the hand-shaped welt growing on the side of his face. Resuming his stoic expression, he slowly turned back toward her, only to meet her furious stare.

"Don't," she paused, breathing heavily, a light sheen of sweat covering her face, "don't you ever, _ever_ insinuate that that week—no, that _she_ was any type of mistake."

Her hands, now shaking more than ever before, helped to move herself carefully upright once more. She pointed one of the hands at him, staring him down with a deadly look. "I don't care who you are. I don't care what you do. It doesn't matter in the _least_ that you're her damn father. But don't you ever say something like that to me again."

Sasuke stared back at her, watching as her fury started to ebb, and exhaustion began to take over. Leaning back against the couch, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath. Weakly, she pulled the blankets over her tighter, closing her eyes as she worked to steady her breathing.

She didn't speak again for a few minutes, but when she did, she merely turned her head to look him in the eyes, not even able to muster up another glare. "Sasuke," she mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open, "you don't understand." She allowed her eyes to close, "I love her more than anything in this world. She makes me happy, she makes me strong," a soft smile fell upon her face. "She makes me always try harder. She makes me want to be better."

Sasuke watched in confusion as she opened her eyes once more, locking her pale green ones with his dark ones.

"She is everything to me."

And with that declaration, she turned her head, facing the window once more.

Sasuke could feel the warm breeze wafting into the room, but for some strange reason a shiver overcame him causing his shoulders to shudder.

"Sh—she wanted me to tell you," Sasuke cleared his throat, willing his voice to remain steady and strong, "that she… she loves you." He watched as Sakura turned her head back to him, her expression filled with so many strong emotions. "And that she misses you." Sakura lifted a hand to cover her mouth, repressing the sob that tried to make its way out. "And that she's sorry."

Sakura curiously surveyed Sasuke as he spoke. She raised an eyebrow, "Sorry?"

"For running off."

"She… she," Sakura moved her hand from her mouth to her chest. Her nails dug into the worn fabric of her shirt as she tried hard to maintain her composure. "She didn't… I didn't know…"

The moment he realized that Sakura had been unaware of Katahana's attempt to run off on her own, he immediately regretted opening his mouth. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach screamed at him; _way to go. You're just making things worse._

"What did she tell you? What happened?" She pleaded with him, reaching out suddenly and grabbing at his hand. "Please, Sasuke."

"She said she wanted to get to Suna on her own. I—" Sasuke hesitated with his words, now realizing how much of an impact they may have on the woman beside him, "I think she felt guilty. She wanted to do it on her own so you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Damnit," Sakura groaned, wiping away tears with one hand as the other gripped Sasuke's tightly. "We'd argued about that a few nights before. It was just before the man with the green mask found us last and told us to enjoy our final days," she spat the words out angrily. "She told me she didn't want me to be sad anymore. It's my own damn fault for not being composed enough around her. And now…" Sakura's voice trailed off as she began breathing rapidly, inhaling in short, quick breaths.

She was hyperventilating.

"And now," Sasuke continued for her, squeezing her hand once, "and now she's safe." He spoke sternly, commanding her attention. "On her way to Suna. With Kakashi."

Sakura let out a ragged cough as she tried to catch her breath, "She's safe." She repeated the phrase to herself over and over, closing her eyes and working to calm her body.

Sasuke allowed her to cling to his hand, waiting by anxiously as he waited for her to regain control. It was frightening to see her like this. So weak, so sick, so defeated.

After a few minutes, she'd calmed herself fully, sinking back down into her blankets. She still held Sasuke's hand, but her grip was a lot lighter, her taped-up fingers barely gripping his. With her eyes now closed, Sasuke had assumed she'd fallen asleep until she'd spoken once more.

"Where did you find her?" She peeked at him momentarily before letting her eyelids fall closed again. "How did you find her?"

"She was just some random street kid who I kept seeing around town." He shrugged, "Eventually she started following me, so I just took her in." Pausing, he frowned as he thought for a moment. "She's too trusting."

Sakura smiled at his apparent concern. "She's alright. She's a good judge of character."

"She's 7."

"Yes, and she's my daughter. I know her, Sasuke."

At that, he closed his mouth. He didn't want to admit it, but she had him there; he barely knew her at all.

"She wouldn't tell me anything," he admitted at least that. "No matter what I asked her, the only thing she told me was her name and age. It wasn't until she started slipping up when I started getting suspicious." He shot her a wry look, "I don't know many people who can talk about the Hokage and Kazekage—by _name_—in normal conversation."

Sakura let out a light, airy laugh. "It may sound ridiculous, but right now I don't care how many times she slipped up or what she may or may not have said." Her grin was wide on her tired face. "I'm just so happy you found her. Of _all_ people."

Sasuke nodded, knowing that she couldn't see his silent response. He knew her shock and understood her relief. The odds of Katahana finding him was so unlikely that the probability of it happening probably was too slim to even calculate. The chances of that circumstance never even passed through his ex-teammate's minds.

But of course, the one and only time he took in someone off the streets, they ended up being his illegitimate child.

Go figure.

They fell into silence soon after, Sakura falling asleep, her features softening as she lay, head still facing toward Sasuke, and cheek pressed against the rough fabric. He watched her sleep for a short amount of time, taking in her appearance.

Her breaths came quick and unsteady, even in sleep. The light cover of sweat across her cheeks and forehead worried him, and the circles under her eyes did not help. He could only hope that Shikamaru and the others would return soon.

* * *

**A/N**: Oh Sasuke. I guess it's only understandable that you're conflicted as fuck. You poor, sad man.

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've been a little bit busy. Y'know, life and all.

About chapter 632/633: Let me just say that I'm SO DAMN PROUD of Sakura. The seal looks so good on you princess KEEP MAKIN' ME PROUD GIRL! Loved the little moment with Sasuke's smirk too. Hm? You like what you see, Sasuke-kun? All I can say is that I hope Sakura hits him at _least_ once. I mean, he deserves to be hit, and Sakura has earned it, too. It's only fair. And 633 was only really entertaining; I didn't exactly like or dislike it. I will admit that I laughed like a dumbass after Sai got blown out of the sky. Sai, I love you baby, but that was fucking hysterical.

_Update on my new blog_: I changed the URL to flowerslut to match up with my penname on here, so if you have a tumblr, go follow me on that and send me a message or two! I'd love to chat with you guys! And I do accept prompts. So far I've done 3 (2 SasuSaku and 1 NaruHina) so feel free to send me more!


	19. Chapter 19

He'd been sitting beside Sakura, eating a sandwich that Nori had made for him, while Sakura sipped some chicken broth out of a bowl, when they returned from the Hidden Stone. The sun had just set and Nori had just declared her day over with and completed when the three ninja walked through the door.

"Sandwiches are on the table," she told them before greeting them. "And help yourself to the fridge if you really need to. I'm hittin' the hay!" Walking toward her bedroom she stopped and waved toward Sasuke and Sakura before wishing the ninja a goodnight and retreating.

As the Leaf ninja walked into the main room, Sakura sat up eagerly, placing the bowl down and patting the seat next to her.

Scooting away slightly, Sasuke frowned as he moved farther down the couch, to make more room for Hanabi to sit beside their injured comrade.

"So, how did it go?"

"Perfectly!" The Hyuuga beamed. "We got everything on the list and more. We figured a little bit of pain medicine wouldn't hurt." She shot the older kunoichi a half-smile and she started digging through the bag.

Within the hour, Sakura had taken her first dosage of the two antibiotics her friends had retrieved for her, and all of her injuries had been re-bandaged with help from Hanabi and Shikamaru, putting on some sort of strange-smelling healing ointment on her wounds as they went. Of course, when she needed to re-wrap the dressing around her shoulder, she made the males in the room leave for a few minutes, while Hanabi helped her out of her shirt.

The women did let them back in the room soon after though. Since she was still too weak to move on her own, she wouldn't be able to bathe properly for a few days, so until then she'd have to remain clean with damn cloths and small towels. Currently, she was leaning back on the couch, eye closed with exhaustion, as Hanabi ran a cool, damp cloth across her face.

The energy she'd exerted while tending to her injuries for a small period of time wasn't much, but in her state, it simply wore her out.

And much like Sakura had instructed, Hanabi waited for her to fall asleep before returning her attention to her injured legs and trying to heal them further with a little more medical ninjutsu. Sasuke watched carefully with a blank expression as the young woman's hands hovered up and down each leg, carefully and slowly mending tiny fractures and repairing broken blood vessels.

When she finished, she placed the blankets back over Sakura and allowed the woman to sleep some more.

A few more hours had passed when Shikamaru started discussing their next plans for the mission. Sasuke tried to listen with his full attention, but he couldn't help but let his eyes and mind wander to the pink-haired kunoichi sitting just a few feet away.

They'd accomplished what they originally set out to do: find Sakura. And since they had all figured it was an almost impossible feat, they hadn't exactly planned what to do after she was found. Sasuke couldn't blame their lack of preparations, although it did annoy him. He hadn't thought they'd find Sakura alive either though, so he tried not to let it bug him _too_ much.

As it stood, the current plan was to wait another week at least, and see where Sakura was at with the healing process. It would be dangerous to travel with her as long as she had two severely injured legs. So their first step was to try and speed up her healing process as quickly as possible.

Hanabi was to heal Sakura three times a day, for small periods of time, until the bones were fully mended and the lacerations fully healed. Sakura was to take the medicines they'd retrieved twice a day. In the morning, and at night. Getting her to also eat and keep down solid foods was the next important step.

As Shikamaru discussed ideas and plans with his teammates, Sasuke let his mind wander. It was too stressful to sit and listen to the list of things that was wrong with Sakura and the amount of things that had to be done to get her back on her feet. And even though she'd assured him—no, _yelled_ at him—about how none of what was happening was his fault, all he could see was that man, Masaru, violently assaulting her.

All because she was the mother to an Uchiha child.

He couldn't glance at a bruise on her arm or cut on her face without feeling a sickly sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Until then," Shikamaru said, drawing Sasuke back out of his thoughts, "I'm going to try and see if I can get in touch with Suna. I'm sure by now they must've gotten there. I want to see if I can get a real confirmation before I say anything for certain." He spoke quietly, being sure not to disturb Sakura's slumber.

Before Sasuke left the room that night, he stole one more glance at Sakura. Her face was still, but not calm. He was almost sure that if she were dreaming at that moment, her dreams were most certainly nothing he envied. But with a glance toward Hanabi, who was readying herself for another uncomfortable night of sleep on the couch beside Sakura, he knew she'd be alright if she woke up and needed comfort.

When he retreated back up to his apartment, ignoring Lee's attempts at making conversation the whole way there, he grabbed a few books from his shelf before barricading himself in his bedroom. He had a pretty bad feeling that he'd be unable to sleep again that night, so instead of climbing beneath the covers, he sat himself on the bed, leaning back lazily against the head board, reading another book he'd read multiple times before.

He was half through the second book when he realized that he wasn't going to get a damn wink of sleep. Again.

Frustrated and growing irritated with himself he did the only other thing he could think to do.

And much like the night before, he found himself wandering out of his apartment, down the stairs, and into the main room of Nori's apartment, where two kunoichi were currently sleeping peacefully.

Or so he'd thought.

He'd been in the room no more than ten minutes when he first heard it. Searching for the strange mumbling noise, he was shocked when he found the quiet sound coming from Sakura.

He couldn't make out any of the words, but by the sound of it, they weren't good.

"No," Sakura whimpered softly, her mumbling more coherent all of a sudden, "please no."

Holding his position in the corner of the room, he watched with careful eyes as she squirmed slightly in her sleep, before calming down once more. He was sure that she was back in the deep depths of her subconscious a little while later, and as his eyelids grew heavy, he allowed himself to let them close.

He'd only rest his eyes for a little.

Just before he could feel his mind slip into unconsciousness, he shot up onto his feet at the sound of a sudden noise before him. Eyes suddenly wide, his hand was prepared to reach back and retrieve a kunai from his side when he almost stumbled backwards.

Staring directly at him, only inches away from his face, was Sakura's surprised glance.

Steadying his legs, he stared down at her shocked face with a look of confusion of his very own. "What are you doing?" he asked bluntly.

Sakura shushed him, placing a bandaged finger up to his lips, urging him to remain silent. "You're going to wake Hanabi."

"I don't—"

"Shh!" She only pressed her finger against his lips harder, making him glare at her as he grabbed hold of her wrist.

"What are you doing?" he spoke again, softer this time, but now frustrated.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she muttered, breaking eye contact. Sasuke noted at that moment as her hand was gripping a long wooden plank to support her body.

"You shouldn't be up." She ignored his words as she quietly, and ever-so-slowly, shuffled her hardly-usable legs across the hard wooden floor. "You shouldn't be on your feet." When she continued to ignore him, and instead ventured further across the room, he let out an annoyed growl.

"Sasuke, what—eep!" Her question was cut off quickly as he approached her from behind and quite literally swept her up off her feet. In shock, she gripped his shirt as tightly as she could, trying to steady herself.

Sasuke was trying to make it so he wasn't hurting her in any way. Her left leg didn't have the ability to bend at the moment, as it was currently boarded up, so he had to make sure he wasn't aggravating any of her injuries. As she wrapped a thin arm around his shoulders, re-gripping his shirt, she looked up at him.

He could see the shock and genuine surprise, but he could also very clearly see her annoyance as well.

What the hell was she annoyed about?

"I can get myself to the bathroom. I don't need help." She spoke as he took a few long strides across the room.

"Tsh." He let out a mocking noise as he rolled his eyes. "Don't be a pain."

"Then let me take care of myself." Glaring, she refused to take her eyes off his face, which was currently inches away from her own. Sasuke glared back as he pushed the door to the bathroom open with a nudge of his foot. Turning on the light switch with his elbow, he looked around.

"You can put me down now." He blinked down at her as she spoke. "I can handle things from here," she spoke angrily through gritted teeth. Sasuke couldn't help but notice her face redden as he placed her carefully on her feet, ensuring that she was leaning heavily on the nearby sink before releasing his hold.

Closing the door behind him he stood out in the hall, arms crossed, as he waited. And as he did so, he couldn't help but wonder.

Had her face reddened out of anger? Or embarrassment?

Before Sasuke could think too much into it, he heard another, rather loud, bang from inside the bathroom.

"I'm okay!" He heard her whisper harshly, just before his hand reached for the doorknob to throw the door wide open. "I'm _fine_!"

Keeping himself planted in his spot by the door, he waited for about five minutes before the door reopened.

When he stepped forward to take her into his arms once more, she held a hand out, stopping his motions as she pressed her palm against his chest.

"I'm fine."

"Sakura," he spoke low, disapproving. "Stop being stubborn." Before she could speak a reply, he cut her off. "You _know_ you're not supposed to be up and walking. If this were anyone else, you'd be doing the same damn thing. Now," he swiftly put one arm behind her back, before lifting her, placing another underneath her legs gently, "come on."

She did not put up any further fight as he carried her back to the couch in the main room, setting her down on the couch carefully. Placing her, so that her legs were propped up once more, he released her, stepping back as she released her hold on his neck.

Grabbing one of her blankets, she wrapped it around herself before frowning and looking away.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. Was she seriously angry at him for _helping_ her?

He stalked back over to the corner of the room, taking his spot beneath the windowsill. Adjusting his position, he tried to become comfortable as he sat, eyes lazily wandering around the room.

"Thank you."

He'd hardly heard it, but looking up and noting Sakura's eyes on him, he nodded once in acknowledgement. Smiling softly at him, she pulled the blanket up higher around her and settled farther into the couch to get more sleep.

It wasn't until an hour later, when he realized she still wasn't sleeping.

She'd been tossing and turning for almost twenty minutes, letting out a frustrated huff every now and then with her eyes closed tight, attempting to sleep.

Sasuke could only imagine that the couch was hardly comfortable enough to sleep on. And Sakura had been sleeping like this for over a week now. He assumed that it couldn't be good for her.

But before he knew it, the sun was beginning to rise in the distance, the room lightening more and more with each passing minute and the temperature rising slightly along with it.

Listening to the birds outside the window, Sasuke allowed his eyes to close once more, listening to the peaceful sounds of the approaching morning. Opening his eyes once more, he casually looked around the room, trying to find something pointless to study with his eyes for a moment.

He wasn't expecting to see Sakura staring at him. And he definitely wasn't expecting to see her tear-stained cheeks. He hadn't even heard her crying. Was she in pain?

Slowly, she turned her head slightly, breaking eye contact and staring out of the window.

She didn't appear to be in any sort of pain. He figured he would've been able to spot any obvious signs of discomfort from her.

"We woke up at sunrise every morning when we were travelling," she suddenly spoke, her voice soft, yet surprisingly steady. "Hana would always wake up before me," she smiled, "and she'd always grin at me and then ask about breakfast." She let out a light laugh, "I can only imagine her hassling Kakashi and the others right about now."

Sasuke thought back to when he'd first taken Katahana in. He'd woken up one morning to his kitchen becoming a war-zone of food; a mess of crumbs and empty food containers everywhere.

"I miss her so much."

Sasuke looked away from her at that moment, not able to passively watch her from a distance. The emotion that was thick in Sakura's voice made his own chest ache with emotions he continuously forced away.

He'd never say it out loud. But he missed her, too.

* * *

For the most part, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Hanabi healed Sakura a little in the morning, and then again around mid-day, focusing mostly on the broken leg which was miraculously healing at an incredible rate due to the medical ninjutsu.

Shikamaru stood around idly, waiting for a possible response from Sunagakure; one that they weren't even sure would be coming. But even in his slight discomfort and obvious impatience, he remained pleasant to be around and talk to. A feat that seemed almost impossible for the strategist.

Sasuke had, very hesitantly, allowed the members of his team access to his books, to give them something to pass the time with. For the next few days, they'd all just be playing a waiting game.

Waiting for Sakura to fully heal.

Waiting for a response from Suna.

Waiting for someone to possibly strike.

That last possibility is what kept them on alert most of the time, as opposed to sitting around and doing basically nothing.

But overall, the day had been pretty calm.

Of course, it was only customary among the Leaf ninja that _something_ go wrong. They weren't usually a lucky bunch to begin with.

Nori walked into the room just before sunset, bowls of rice collected on a tray that she set down before them. Next to the bowls were just a few slices of toast on a plate.

"I know it didn't work last time," she said, "but with all that medicine you guys have been givin' her, it's worth a shot. People can't last forever on soup alone!"

Hanabi smiled in gratitude, picking up the plate from the tray and turning toward Sakura, who was currently napping. She hesitated, "Should we let her sleep or…"

"She needs to eat," Sasuke chimed in abruptly. He had moved earlier from his spot in the corner of the room to sitting directly beside the couch, his back leaning against the side of it. "She'll be up all night if you let her sleep anymore."

Shrugging slightly, Hanabi grabbed Sakura's shoulder and proceeded to lightly shake it. "Sakura, wake up. We have food for you." She frowned when she did not rise out of her sleep. "Sakura. Sakura, wake up." It wasn't until she called her name for a third time, shaking her shoulder a little more roughly, when she began to panic. "S-Sakura?"

Hearing the unease in her voice, Sasuke was on his feet in an instant, turning to hover over the two women. Sakura had been wrapped tightly in a blanket, her head leaning slightly to the side as she slept, her face obscured from view to keep the light out of her eyes.

Reaching out with quick yet gentle hands, he lifted her head up and pulled the blanket back slightly to reveal a very sickly, _very_ pale Sakura. "Sakura," he spoke, leaning closer down toward her. "_Sakura_." His voice was firm, loud and commanding. He waited for a full second before suddenly, everyone sprang into action.

"What's happening?"

"She may be having adverse reactions to the medicine."

"No it can't be the medicine it has to be something else."

"What is wrong? Is she alright?"

"Sakura, Sakura wake up."

"What do we do!?"

Sasuke was trying hard to tune out their panic as he tried to think of a plan of action, and fast. It was Shikamaru who acted first though, quickly ushering Hanabi off the couch and gently grabbing Sakura. Following his train of thought, Sasuke helped him to lay Sakura flat on the couch. As they released their holds on her, her head immediately flopped to the side.

Hanabi sprang into action next, kneeling before the couch, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead. "She's burning up." Her hands moved next to her neck. "Her—her pulse is weak," she said, trying to remain composed.

"Do something," Sasuke commanded, glaring down at the young woman.

"I—I'm thinking!" She said desperately, hands on her head, wracking her brain for some sort of idea. In the background, Lee paced the room nervously, hands on his head and he walked back and forth. Shikamaru was kneeled beside Hanabi, panicked but working hard to think of something to help.

Sasuke was suddenly frozen as he stood next to the couch, looking down on Sakura's limp body. She couldn't be dying. No. Not after all they'd been through to find her. There was no way she'd leave them here. There was no way.

Running his hands through his hair, he gripped the hair at the back of his head, urging himself to remain calm. He tried to tell himself that she'd be okay, but he couldn't bring himself to even think the words. He didn't want to delude himself into thinking something that probably wasn't true.

She couldn't die like this. He'd just found her! He'd promised Katahana that he'd bring her back, _safe_. He couldn't help carry back her lifeless body. He _wouldn't_.

"Hanabi!" he yelled suddenly, unable to control himself, "You're the medic on this team, do something!"

"I'm thinking!" she yelled back desperately, tears springing to the corners of her eyes. "We—we need to try and lower her temperature."

Shikamaru jumped up suddenly, running to the bathroom and turning on the faucet in the tub.

Running back over to them, Hanabi nodded fervently. "We need to make sure it isn't too cold, we don't want her body going into shock."

"It's not." Shikamaru replied quickly, removing the blankets from Sakura's body, damp with sweat.

Glancing from the duo, to the bathroom, and back toward Sakura, he immediately leaned forward, gathering her in his arms before anyone could say anything else.

Her body felt hot against him; unnaturally so.

Following Hanabi into the bathroom, he stood there uneasily as he saw her work to quickly adjust the temperature of the water. Moving himself in front of her he carefully lowered Sakura into the tub, allowing the water to rise around her. He did not release his hold on her entirely, as he kept an arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders, supporting her upper body and head.

As he worked, he noted Hanabi beside him, working to remove the splint from her leg, followed by the bandages. As she uncovered the skin on her right leg, Sasuke's stomach dropped.

The infection had gotten worse. The skin that had looked dirty and bloody before was now bright red.

Quickly removing the rest of the bandages from her legs, Hanabi quickly ignited her hands with a warm, green glow before placing them over her infected leg.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked uneasily from the doorway to the tiny room.

"Lee, get me the bag by the couch," she ordered quickly, finally overcoming her shock and working diligently. "I have to try and fight off the infection."

"Have you ever done this?"

Hanabi hesitated at Shikamaru's question, before shaking her head slowly. "No. I've seen my sister do it a few times before."

Sasuke wanted to snap at her, tell her not to do anything too dangerous. But as he stared down at Sakura's face, skinny and pale, he knew that if they didn't at least _try_ something, she'd be dead within days.

Lee handed Hanabi the bag and then retreated a couple steps back to stand once more in the doorway. But he was moved quickly to the side as Nori walked through the doorway. Stopping behind Sasuke, he turned and studied her. She had a small bucket filled with ice water in one hand and a white cloth in the other. Dipping the cloth into the icy water, she wordlessly handed it to Sasuke, who did not hesitate this time.

Placing the cloth on Sakura's forehead, he kept his hand there for a long moment, watching out of the corner of his eye as the water rose past her hip, now encasing both her legs. He watched her still face carefully, silently begging her to stay with them. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her.

_Please don't die._

_Please don't leave._

_You have Katahana, you can't leave her._

_Please don't die._

_You can't leave._

Grip tightening across her shoulders, he let out an unsteady breath of air before leaning his head forward, pressing his forehead against the edge of the tub. He closed his eyes tightly and kept praying to himself.

_Please don't die. Please don't go. You can't go, Sakura. Please wake up. You can't die. Sakura, please._

_You can't leave me here alone._

He hadn't realized he'd mumbled the words out loud until he felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly. He immediately tensed up, wincing at Shikamaru's touch. He didn't want to be comforted. He didn't _need_ to be comforted. The only thing he needed was for Sakura to be okay.

And as he realized this, his eyes shot wide open.

No matter how hard he had been trying to deny it, he knew that nothing had changed after all these years. What he had realized during his last few weeks with her still held true.

Sasuke still loved her.

* * *

**A/N**: And the plot thickens. I guess that's the right terminology, right? Oh well. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the drama; trust me this definitely isn't the last of it. What kind of SasuSaku story would it be without a little bit-okay, maybe _a lot_-of emotional shit?

About chapter 634: I'm not going to lie, I didn't mean to stay up until 4AM just to read that chapter. Honestly; it just kind of happened. Either way, I'll admit that the tears started flowing around the same time as Sakura's did. I'm actually 87% sure that seeing her crying triggered mine too. But damn, I can't handle that ending man. I'm really hoping that Sasuke was just being overly-dramatic and not scheming and evil. Sakura you either need to hit this boy or kiss the absolute fuck out of him. Either way, calm his ass down.

Also, there's a little extra for those of you following my Tumblr: I ask for prompts every week or so, and I write and post a couple each week for my followers (and for all those who track the SasuSaku or NaruHina tags) to read. Feel free to check them out, and send me prompts of your own-my url is flowerslut on there, too.

And like always, reviews are great motivators.


	20. Chapter 20

He'd stopped paying attention to everyone else in the room a few hours before. Now Sasuke kept himself distracted by watching the clock on the far wall of the room. Although the second hand ticked almost silently, he couldn't help but focus solely on that small, hardly-audible, sound.

It was almost four in the morning.

It had taken Hanabi a half an hour before she eventually sat back, weak and tired from working. She informed him that she'd done all she could, and spoke with a weak smile about how she'd successfully fought off a good amount of the infection.

Afterward, they'd placed Sakura in clean, warm clothes, before wrapping her up in a couple blankets and bringing her back into the main room.

As the hours passed, Hanabi had checked up on Sakura a couple times an hour. After a little while Sakura's temperature decreased little by little, until she only held a slight fever still. Her breathing also grew stronger, her breaths more even.

Lee was currently sitting on the ground by the coffee table, leaning his head on it sideways, trying to fight off sleep, but failing miserably. Hanabi had retreated up to Sasuke's apartment about an hour before; being dead on her feet, Shikamaru told her that she needed to get rest and sent her up with a blanket in hand.

"Lee," Shikamaru said quietly, nudging the man with his foot.

"Hm?" Looking up at him with tired eyes, Lee could hardly get himself to form words let alone lift his head off the table.

"Go to sleep."

But he shook his head stubbornly. "Sakura may wake up or get sick again during the night or—"

"Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on her." As he spoke, Shikamaru looked over towards Sasuke, who was sitting on the floor, his back against the front of the couch, arms folded across his chest. His eyes were blank, staring out ahead of him, seemingly focused on something the others could not see. Shikamaru grimaced, "Maybe you should head up, too."

Sasuke's eyes shot up to his, immediately glaring. "I'm not moving anywhere."

Shikamaru held Sasuke's gaze for a long moment, but when the Uchiha did not falter, he sighed. "Fine."

"If you get tired or need to sleep or something," Lee said, picking himself up off the floor, "do not hesitate to wake me." And with heavy steps, he left the room.

Sasuke stared at his retreating form, frowning. Like he'd told Shikamaru, he wasn't moving from this damn spot. Even if he needed to sleep—which he highly doubted would happen—he'd just sleep right there. He wouldn't leave Sakura in this room without him.

He refused.

"You haven't slept."

Sasuke looked up at the Nara man as he spoke, giving him a dull look. He figured that the man would soon catch on to the fact that he was physically and now mentally exhausted. It didn't mean a thing to him though. He could try all he wanted to; he wouldn't be able to sleep, no matter how much Shikamaru nagged him.

"You don't have to go upstairs or anything," he picked up a spare blanket from the far edge of the couch, tossing it into Sasuke's lap, "but at least try."

Sasuke did not reply, but he did have to fight the urge to snap at him. _I've been trying_. He knew there was no use, no point in even wasting his breath.

He watched as Shikamaru situated himself on the floor by the doorway. Leaning up against the wall, facing the couch, he folded his arms and closed his eyes. It had been a long night for all of them. They'd been waiting for hours and hours for Sakura to awaken, or to show some sign of life to them, but instead they were left disappointed.

Turning his eyes upward again, he once more watched the hands on the clock move around the wheel.

He suddenly found himself thinking about Katahana. He wondered what she was up to. Whether or not they had arrived at Suna, safely. If they'd ran into any trouble. He even wondered whether or not she was sleeping at that very moment. He could only hope so.

Sasuke had found himself thinking earlier on in the day about how exciting Katahana would be once they got to Suna with Sakura. He tried imagining her reaction to seeing her mother for so long. Would she laugh? Cry? Maybe a combination of both.

What about when she saw him?

His stomach tightened at the thought. What _would_ she do? Sasuke would be bringing her Sakura; he knew that their bond was something he'd never had the opportunity to see before. His own mother had died before he realized what it was like to really love someone unconditionally. His memories of her were few, and some of them had grown fuzzy throughout the years.

The fear of being brushed aside by her suddenly froze him with shock. He was frustrated; he didn't even understand why the tiny girl was having such an effect on him! Sure, he was her father, but he'd only known her for a few weeks. And even so, he still didn't exactly _know_ her.

Glancing over at Shikamaru, whose head was currently flopped to the side, he wanted to roll his eyes. The man was fast asleep.

Leaning his head back and resting it against the couch cushion behind him, he closed his eyes, trying to ward off a headache.

A little while later, he fell into a comfortable state. He wasn't sleeping, or close to falling asleep, but with his eyes closed and his body relaxed, he found it a tiny bit soothing. It may not be substantial rest, but it was something.

Feeling a nice, comfortable feeling of something brushing through his hair, he relaxed further. It took him a full minute to realize something.

Eyes opening, he turned around in the same instant only to meet a set of tired, green eyes.

"Sakura," he breathed out in relief. Immediately leaning forward, he placed the back of his hand against her forehead. She felt significantly cooler than she had hours before, and her cheeks were even getting some color back into them.

"Sasuke," she mumbled sleepily, "is that you?" She lifted the hand she'd been running through his hair and reached out toward him. "Are you really here?"

Sasuke stopped her movement, grabbing her wrist and gently laying it back down. "Yes," he frowned, concerned at her confusion, "you remember don't you?"

Her eyebrows furrowed for a bit, as she thought to herself. Sasuke could feel the panic building inside him as he watched her confused expression. A minute later though, her expression softened and she looked back up to him.

"Oh," she mumbled quietly, taking in a deep breath, "I remember." Letting the air out of her lungs slowly, she lifted her head, placing her palm flat on the cushion, attempting to sit up. As her arm shook with her effort, Sasuke frowned before reaching out and assisting her. She was still weak.

"Thanks," she whispered as he gently lifted her into a seated position. Now sitting sideways on the couch, her legs still out in front of her, she lifted shaky arms above her head and stretched. The popping sound of bones and joints filled the room momentarily before she lowered her arms and leaned back against the couch.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired," she deadpanned. "Really, really tired." Looking out the window and frowning at the darkness, she turned to him. "How long have I been out?"

"About nine hours."

"What happened?" she looked down at herself uneasily, noting her change of clothes. "How…"

"Your fever spiked. You were unresponsive." His eyes glanced over toward Shikamaru before turning back to her. "Hanabi's been healing you periodically."

"Oh," she said, stunned.

"You scared everyone." _Even me_.

"I'm sorry," she said with a soft half-smile. "I do feel better though."

"Hm?"

"Yeah, I feel…" she thought about it for a moment before she let out a quiet laugh, looking at him with eyes that seemed to brighten with each passing minute. "I feel hungry."

Sasuke found himself in the kitchen, moments later, searching through the cupboards for some bread to toast. Unable to find any, he almost gave up and went searching for something else to feed her when he heard a noise in the doorway.

"Oops."

Sasuke's head shot toward her as he glared. Sakura was standing in the doorway, hands gripping the frame. As she took note of his glare she smiled sheepishly. "It's alright, I'm—"

"We just spent hours worrying about you and now you're up and walking again and it's only going to make things worse," he frowned, approaching her. "Your legs are never going to recover at this rate."

"Sasuke," she said, struggling to get him to quiet down, "it's fine. Look." Releasing her hold, she balanced unsteadily on her legs. "The splint makes it a little difficult, but my legs are almost completely healed." She grinned at him before the smile slowly fell from her face. "How long did you say Hanabi was healing me for?"

"Cumulatively? A couple hours."

Sakura frowned, "Is she resting? That's not healthy, especially for someone who's new to healing."

"She's upstairs." He confirmed. Speaking of unhealthy… "You need to sit back down. You're still weak."

Sakura glared at his choice of words. "I need to start building up muscle tissue."

"Not now," he walked over to her, ready to drag her back into the room if needed. Pausing as she raised her hand and kept him at arm's length, he sighed. "What?"

"I'll go back, but you have to at least let me walk to and from the bathroom by myself."

His frown deepened. "No. You need to stay off your feet."

"Fine," she said, sticking her nose up at him, "I guess that just means _you'll_ be the one doing all the things I want to get done."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, if you want me to stay on that damn couch, you'll have to be the one to bring me my food and carry me places and help me to—"

"You're not serious," he said in a monotone, watching her with calculating eyes.

"Well I _am_ weak, I wouldn't _dare_ to do anything on my own," she said dramatically, rolling her eyes and then glaring at him.

Sasuke glared right back. "Don't be sarcastic."

Grinning slyly at him she leaned forward and patted his cheek a few times with one of her hands. "Don't be bossy then."

"Tsh," before she could protest, he swept her legs out from underneath her and held her in his arms. Carrying her over toward the couch, he placed her down gently—although resisting the urge to simply drop her, due to her attitude—and took a couple steps back.

She grinned up at him as he glared down at her. "I'll be waiting for my breakfast."

"I liked you better when you were unconscious." He mumbled to her before turning around and heading toward the kitchen.

"Still a charmer," she deadpanned before he stepped out of the room.

Scanning his eyes across the room he tried to ignore her. He didn't even know why he was getting her anything to eat at all. He figured it was because she was still not well and that she needed to eat, regardless of how much she was working to piss him off.

Finally finding some bread, he paused and found himself smiling slightly to himself. He had to admit, it was nice to finally see her with her attitude back.

Regardless of how annoying it could be.

* * *

"I—I was a little unsure because I mean I'd only ever _seen_ it done."

"You must have been paying very good attention."

"I could've messed something up! Or made things worse somehow."

"Hanabi," Sakura said, placing a reassuring hand on her leg, "it's alright. Things went fine. It's nothing to worry about."

It was just before noon and finally everyone had woken up from their sleep. Surprisingly enough, despite his uncomfortable position, Shikamaru had been the last of their team to wake up. Walking into the room and rubbing his eyes tiredly, Lee had accidentally looked away and almost tripped over Shikamaru's feet, letting out a small yelp as he caught himself before falling onto their team captain.

Sakura had laughed at the look of surprise on Shikamaru's face, causing both of the men to jerk their heads toward her. And upon spotting her, sitting up, awake and smiling, they both let out wide grins.

As they'd crowded around the couch, Sasuke moved himself from his spot leaning against the arm of the couch and over toward the window, trying to remain out of their way.

Hanabi shifted in her spot beside Sakura on the couch, "I guess so," she said a bit uneasily.

"Trust me," Sakura said, smiling softly at her. "You did great."

They were all suddenly distracted by Nori entering the room, bringing along a tray of food. Although it was mid-day, since they'd all woken a bit late, she still prepared a bountiful breakfast for them.

And as everyone gathered up a plate, Sakura sat there, frowning slightly.

"Have any sort of appetite today, Sakura?" The woman asked, offering Sakura a plate of toast.

Sakura smiled slightly, more distracted by the food on Hanabi's plate. "Yes, actually." Grabbing the plate she immediately began eating the charred bread.

"Looks like somebody is hungry today!" Lee commented excitedly as he shoveled his own food into his mouth.

"I've been hungry since I woke up," Sakura admitted, covering her mouth as she spoke so she didn't spew crumbs all over herself.

"You could've woken me up," Shikamaru said, "I would've gotten you something to eat."

"Oh no it's fine!" She said, giving him a reassuring smile, "Sasuke got me something."

Shikamaru shot him a quick glance, a shocked look in his eye and an amused smirk on his face. "Well, that's good. We need you to start eating real food again and gaining back your strength quickly."

"Actually," Sakura shot another quick glance at Hanabi's sandwich, "some real food sounds pretty damn good right about now."

"One more sandwich, coming right up!"

Sakura grinned as she heard Nori shout from the next room. "Thank you!" She called back, laughing slightly. Her smile remained on her face as she turned back toward her friends, "The bones in my legs should be fully healed in no time. And after I get all my damn energy back, I'll be able to heal myself more and then we'll be able to leave."

"Let's not rush things now," Shikamaru said gently, trying to keep Sakura from getting too excited. "One step at a time."

"Hanabi," Sakura said, practically ignoring his advice, "after we eat can you heal me a little more? Not my legs but just my shoulder. As soon as that heals I'll basically have full use of my arms."

"Sure," she nodded, gradually becoming more confident in her abilities. "After you eat though." As she spoke, Nori walked into the room, another plate with a new sandwich in her hands.

"Eat up, girl," she said, handing the food to Sakura, "you gotta gain back some weight now!"

Sasuke watched from a few feet away as they all interacted. He could hardly tear his eyes away from Sakura's face.

She had been deathly ill just a day before. She had severe trouble with keeping her head up or her eyes open for long periods of time. She could hardly even keep down the soup that Nori brought to her for meals. And now here she was, sitting up on her own, eating as if there were no tomorrow, and talking with more energy than he'd seen her with since they'd found her.

As he watched her groan with overdramatic pleasure as she took a bite of the sandwich, and listened as his teammates laughed and joked along with her, he couldn't fight the feeling of absolute relief that overtook him.

Maybe, things would go right for once in his life.

Just… maybe...

* * *

"Is this where you've been this whole time?"

Sasuke peered over his shoulder and made quick eye contact with Sakura before turning his head back around to stare at the wall some more. He was leaning back up against the front of the couch, just as he'd been doing the night before. The table that had originally been pressed up against the couch was now moved back to the other wall across the room.

"Go back to sleep," he said gruffly.

"Can't," she replied simply, sitting herself up. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the couch so that her legs were to the right of Sasuke's sitting form. They'd removed the splint from Sakura's leg earlier in the day. She was now able to fully bend both of her knees with little difficulty. "I feel too…" she thought for a moment, "too excited."

Sasuke watched out of the corner of his eye as she stretched her legs gently. She pulled her leg up and hugged her knee to her chest, and then alternated, wincing slightly as she did so.

"Your body won't heal fully unless you get enough sleep."

"I know that Sasuke," she shot him a wry look as she started massaging each of her legs carefully. "I can't sleep though. So that's that."

He grunted in reply as he tried to actively ignore her. But with her body so close to his—her legs brushing up against his side as she moved and stretched—she was pretty hard to ignore.

"You never did answer my question."

"So?"

She let out a light laugh, shaking her head before leaning forward to look at his face, "You really are just as stubborn as you've always been."

"Speak for yourself," he grumbled. She only laughed in reply.

"So spill," she purposefully nudged him with her leg, "how long?"

"About two years."

"I never pictured you to settle down in a little town like this."

"It's quiet," he half-shrugged, as if that explained everything. He thought for another moment, "I actually wasn't planning on staying. Nori sort of… dragged me in."

Sakura let out a light laugh as she lifted her legs back onto the couch, laying long-ways once more. Hanabi was sleeping up in Sasuke's apartment tonight. She'd been sleeping curled up on half of a couch for days now, and Sakura encouraged her to try and get a better night's sleep. She'd even been as bold as to offer Sasuke's bed to her; as if it were her own bed she was offering up.

Sasuke hadn't said anything when she did this—he knew that she was assuming he'd just wander back down into Nori's apartment much like he did every night, leaving his bed vacant. And of course, she was right. He had to admit it was mildly entertaining to watch the young kunoichi stutter out an excuse to avoid occupying his room.

It's not that he really cared, but it was fun to watch her claim ownership over the couch in his apartment for the duration of their stay—and even more fun to watch Lee try and talk her out of it. Sasuke had seen the man sleep in the strangest of places though, so he knew that sleeping on the floor wouldn't really have any sort of impact on the odd ninja.

"I can imagine Nori doing that," she let out another light laugh. "When she found me, she practically dragged those two men along and for some reason they just kind of… went with it I guess." Propping her head up on her hand, she kept her eyes trained on him.

Sasuke watched her out of the corner of his eye as she continued to stare at him, her face crunched up in thought. Finally, he turned and faced her, allowing her to look him in the eye as opposed to watching the back of his head.

"When you fought Masaru," she began speaking, her words soft, "how did you… I mean, how was it that you…"

"That I didn't die?"

She grimaced, but nodded.

"I was lucky," he explained, his tone frustrated. "If it weren't for Naruto and everyone else I'd be a corpse right now."

She offered him a soft smile, before allowing her eyes to stray. "I guess that makes two of us then," she whispered.

Neither of them said anything for a long time. They even went as far as to avoid eye contact with one another for several minutes afterward. Sasuke knew that her mind was in the same place that his was. Both of their thoughts centered on a certain small girl.

"_I find it terribly disappointing that I'll have to orphan another child."_

The words were still fresh and clear in Sasuke's mind, and they still held the same nauseating affect on him, causing his stomach to churn and his chest to tighten.

"When is her birthday?" he found himself asking suddenly. He paused after he spoke, still not meeting Sakura's eyes. _Where had that come from?_

Although he kept his gaze toward the far window, he could almost feel her eyes burning into his back.

"March 26th. Just two days before mine." He could almost hear the smile in her voice as she spoke.

Sasuke was silent for a moment as he thought to himself, quickly calculating numbers in his head. Finally, he turned and looked at her, his eyes narrowing, "She was premature, wasn't she?"

"About two months, yeah." Sakura nodded, shifting once more so that she was sitting upright again. "It's not uncommon for teenage mothers." Her expression fell as she paused. "I almost lost her right at the beginning."

Sasuke forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat as Sakura confessed that piece of information to him. She'd almost died. His daughter had almost died upon entering the world. He would have never met her. She would've ceased to exist, and Sasuke would have never known.

"She's always been quite small for her age," Sakura continued, "but she's started to shoot up a bit in the last few months." Sasuke watched as her face lightened up. It was fascinating to him to watch the green in her eyes brighten as she spoke of Hana. "She looks so much like you. Her hair, her eyes," she smiled widely once more, "even the shape of her face."

"She looks like my mother," Sasuke said quietly after a small moment of silence. "More like my mother than I do."

"What was she like?"

He stared back at her as the words left her mouth. Sakura had always been careful to avoid certain subjects in the past—the subject of his family was especially avoided. But now, as she looked at him with an intensely curious gaze, he somehow felt compelled to reply.

"She was kind, compassionate, a little soft-spoken. Beautiful. I remember her being very smart, too." Sasuke paused, looking for more words to speak, but when he found none, he closed his mouth tight, frowning. "I don't remember much," he admitted, looking away. "I know she loved us—Itachi and I—more than anything."

"She sounded lovely."

Sasuke met her eyes once more and was relieved to find them without any pity. "She was."

"I'm sorry," she blurted out suddenly. He raised his eyebrow as he waited for her to continue. "I just, I didn't know where you had gone, and I didn't think—I didn't know whether or not you…" she trailed off, frustrated at herself for not being able to find the correct words. Sasuke knew what she was trying to say though.

"You didn't think I'd care," he kept his eyes locked on hers as he spoke, anger beginning to well up in his chest.

"No! That's not it, I just… I didn't _know_ whether or not you'd want to have anything to do with her—with us."

"She's my daughter," he said, trying to keep his anger in check, "of course I'd want to—"

"I didn't know that, Sasuke!" She snapped back, working hard to keep her own emotions under control. "I didn't know that! You left and I never thought I'd see you again. You said it yourself, you'd never come back to Konoha—"

"That was before I knew I had a child—"

"So are you trying to tell me that if you would have known, you would have come back?"

"I—" he snapped his jaw shut suddenly, biting his cheek as he swore silently to himself. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I had a right to know."

Sakura's angry expression softened considerably as she watched his shoulders slump. "You're right. That's why I'm sorry. Naruto offered to tell you for me," she smiled sadly to herself, "after he went looking for you that final time."

Sasuke nodded as she spoke, remembering the time the new Hokage had tracked him down and spoken to him last. That had been when he'd been informed that Itachi's name had officially been cleared.

"You were in Konoha recently though, right?"

Sasuke nodded, still thinking to himself. "For a few days," he mumbled.

"How was that?"

"Weird. Everything is different."

Sakura let out another light laugh, wrapping her blanket tighter around her. "I miss it," she smiled sadly. "I just want… for all of this to be over, you know?" She looked at him with a tired expression. "I just want it to be over."

It was only then that Sasuke could see her true exhaustion. Sakura had been pushed to her limits and then beyond that. She wasn't just fragile physically at the moment, but mentally as well; he was even shocked that she was still going. It didn't help that most of their memories they had together were from back when they were children starting out as ninja. For years he had this image of her in his head: this weak, over-emotional girl who needed comfort and protection more than anything else.

This Sakura was different.

"I'll end it myself," he said quietly. "I'm going to find that man and kill him."

"You're not doing it alone," she replied quickly, immediately knowing his intentions without him even having to word it. "Don't even think about doing that by yourself. Sasuke, it's too dangerous."

"_I'm_ going to be the one to take him out. This is personal."

Sakura gaped at him, "You can't be serious right now. What would you say if I went off by myself to find him?"

He frowned, "That's different."

"But 'it's personal'," she said, mocking him blatantly. "How on earth would our reasons be different Sasuke? Please enlighten me."

"Sakura…" Sasuke warned, trying to keep his anger under control.

"No. Don't say anything else. You of all people should know that running off to get revenge by yourself is not a good idea—it's _never_ a good idea." She held a hand up before her just as he opened his mouth to reply. "I'm not comparing the situations, Sasuke. I'm just saying, it's a bad idea, and you know it."

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut before turning back around and facing the far wall again. He'd rather just not say anything further than argue with her on the subject. He was going to find that man and end his life with his own two hands, and nothing she could say would stop him.

They were silent for a long time after that. Sasuke thought that maybe she'd fallen back asleep, but after glancing over his shoulder he noticed that she was still sitting up; staring out the window with a far-off look in her eyes.

"I miss her," she said softly, taking note of Sasuke's eyes on her. She glanced at him quickly before averting her eyes once more. "I miss her so much, it hurts."

Swallowing the lump in his throat he nodded, his own way of agreeing—of finally being able to understand what Sakura felt for once in their lives. He searched for some sort of reply; words to say that would bring her comfort or maybe even encourage her to finally go back to sleep.

But he was never much of a talker.

Silently, he turned slightly, lifting a careful hand and reaching out toward her. He wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed lightly, just once—just enough for Sakura to know that he understood, and that he could finally empathize with her.

She met his eyes for a moment, smiling softly, before gripping his hand back and holding it tightly. Then, turning her head back to the side she continued looking out of the window, saying nothing more.

Sasuke supposed that for the moment, there were no more words to be said. So instead, he gazed out the window himself, as if searching for something—trying to see what Sakura was seeing. But all he could picture in his mind was the smiling face of his daughter, staring back up at him with nothing other than admiration.

He held Sakura's hand tighter.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry about the long wait. I got back from vacation last night. I originally wasn't going to post this until Wednesday, but I figured you all have waited for this chapter long enough.

As for the manga? I'm stressed out about Sasuke and I'm freaking out over Kakashi and I swear to god if they kill either one of them I'm going to send Kishimoto a box full of spiders. Big, scary spiders.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!


	21. Chapter 21

Receiving a swift kick to the side that he was unable to block, Sasuke let out a grunt before pivoting to the side to avoid being struck again. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't a problem for Sasuke, but he was much better at ninjutsu than taijutsu. And fighting with a handicap wasn't what Sasuke had in mind when he asked—well, demanded—someone to spar with him.

But Rock Lee was only trained in taijutsu, so to make things more interesting, the man had offered to fight against him in hand-to-hand combat only. Sasuke had readily agreed, eager at the chance of training with someone else after so long.

But now, having to resist the urge to make hand signs and perform ninjutsu was starting to frustrate him slightly. He had to admit it: he was a little rusty, but he was catching on quickly.

So when he spun and caught the back of Lee's knee with a side kick, he had to hold back a grin of satisfaction.

Lee made a squawking noise before stumbling forward. He was just about to catch his footing, when a conveniently placed stick caught his heel and sent him tumbling into the ground, face-first.

From the sideline, Hanabi began laughing, unashamed of her childish prank. "I can't believe you didn't see that!"

Sitting himself up on the ground, the lanky man frowned, "What was that for?"

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little annoyed as well. He needed to train hard, and train fast—he needed to regain his old fighting styles back, and quickly. He didn't care much for practical jokes, or as he liked to call them, idiotic distractions.

"Oh lighten up," she grinned at him from her place under the tree. "It was just a little twig."

Lee picked himself up off the ground, brushing the dirt off his clothes before picking up the stick and tossing it in the other direction, _away_ from Hanabi. "I know I do not go on missions with you very often, but I think I understand why you're always teamed with Kiba."

Hanabi looked at him suspiciously, "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Kiba says the reason you act out is due to the fact that you trained too much as a young child, therefore you are prone to act childish more often, even though you are an adult now."

"Well Kiba's getting his ass kicked next time I see him," she mumbled to herself, crossing her arms and glaring.

"I do appreciate your youthfulness though! But—"

"Not when we're trying to train," Sasuke spoke, looking at the girl with an annoyed expression. Turning his attention from her pouting form back to Lee, he readied his stance and the two started once more.

They trained—practical joke free—without a break until it was a little bit after midday. After a couple hours, Hanabi had switched places with Lee, in order to give the man a break, and to give Sasuke another fighting style to combat.

Finally being able to fairly use ninjutsu, Sasuke came to the conclusion that he liked sparring with her better.

They were eventually interrupted by a long call through the air.

"Lunch is served!"

The two ninja who were currently sparring paused, both of them deactivating their kekkei genkai as they spotted their incoming guests. It wasn't until he saw Sakura, trailing behind Nori and walking beside Shikamaru, when he frowned and crossed his arms.

"I brought you all sandwiches," the old woman said, handing each of them a carefully wrapped sandwich. Sasuke took his wordlessly before placing it on his pack and facing a certain kunoichi with a stern look.

"Why are you up?"

She rolled her eyes, "Nice to see you too, Sasuke."

When sunrise had broken, Sakura had finally lain back down on her spot on the couch and fell back asleep, never once releasing Sasuke's hand. Sasuke though, did not go to sleep at all; instead, as soon as he saw the taijutsu expert, he'd proposed to train, which the man readily agreed to—a bit over enthusiastically too, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"Sakura!" Hanabi jogged up to the group, towel draped lazily over her shoulder as she wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "Look at you!"

Sakura grinned, lightly hopping from one foot to the other as if to emphasize the progress she'd been making with the healing of her injuries. "And watch," holding her hands out in front of her, she paused for a moment, concentrating on something. When her hands lit up with a light green glow, she let out a laugh, "I'm gaining my chakra back little by little."

"But you still need to rest," Sasuke said, almost as if unimpressed with her recovery. Where truthfully, he was quite impressed and extremely relieved too, he was just uneasy with her already up and walking around so soon after having her injuries healed.

"I know that," she shot him an annoyed glare of her own, "I'm not here to join you guys, just to provide moral support." Then her face lit up as if she suddenly remembered something, "Oh yeah! And we've got good news!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Shikamaru pulled something out from a pouch on his side. He didn't recognize what it was until he saw the Sand Village insignia on the back of the paper. Eyes widening, he made sudden eye contact with Sakura, only to see her already staring back at him with a smile on her face unlike any other.

"It's from Gaara," Shikamaru said, turning the message around for a quick moment for the others to see. "I'd sent him confirmation that we'd found Sakura, and further information on our mission as a whole. I also asked for him to reply if Kakashi's team had reached Suna yet."

"And?" Hanabi said eagerly, urging him on.

"He says that they've been sending him messages periodically, keeping them up to date with their location." Shikamaru scanned the message once more before folding it up once more and tucking it under his arm. "When he sent us this message they had reported being two days away. Meaning—"

"They could already be there by now," Sakura said with a wide smile, cutting him off. "They could be in Suna right now."

"_Could _be," Shikamaru gave Sakura a stern look, "we don't want to assume things."

"Knowing Kakashi," Sakura only stared back at Shikamaru with another grin, "if he said two days, he meant _two_ days."

Shikamaru just shrugged, "I'm just trying not to get anyone's hopes up by relaying potentially false information."

"Yeah, I know," Sakura dismissed his concern quickly before turning back toward everyone else, still smiling, "there's another thing too. We're leaving tomorrow."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Tomorrow?" Lee asked, voicing aloud everyone's surprise. "That is so soon."

"We have to start heading there now. It's a three day trip."

"No," Sasuke said sternly, "you're not fully healed yet."

"I'm as close to fully healed that I'm going to get," she retorted, not skipping a beat. "My bones are mended, I can walk, and I'll be ready to run by sunrise. We're leaving tomorrow and that's that."

Without another word, she stalked off in the direction in which she came. Sasuke wasn't sure if her heavy, stomping footsteps were due to her sudden anger or whether or not it was just her trying to emphasize her point: she was healed almost completely. Nori smiled warmly toward all of them before turning around and slowly following the frustrated woman out of the woods and back toward the village.

"It's no use," Shikamaru said after a couple minutes, "I've already tried talking to her about it, but there's no way she's going to listen."

"We need to give her at least another day than that," Hanabi said, concerned. "I mean, I know her healing is going well but even with medical ninjutsu, you still need to rest."

"I'm almost positive that if we don't leave tomorrow—as a team—then she'll try and find a way to leave on her own." Shikamaru kicked a nearby stone, watching it roll a few feet away before hitting the trunk of a tree. "She wanted to leave today, but I convinced her that tomorrow would be better and that we needed time to prepare."

Sasuke stalked off back toward his gear, looking down on his sandwich and disregarding it completely. He was relieved to hear from Suna, and to hear that Katahana could very well be in the village at that very moment, but the doubt was still there. He was frustrated over the fact that Sakura was being stubborn; she needed to rest for longer to gain back more of her strength, and he knew that _she_ knew it too.

He only waited for a few minutes after that before walking up to Rock Lee once more and demanding another sparring session. If they were going to be travelling the next day, he needed to get as much training in as possible. He was finally getting the hang of real combat again, and his hands and fists were itching for the rush that the adrenaline would bring.

A part of him was eager—excited even—about their departure the following day. It would bring him closer to being able to find Masaru and killing him along with each and every one of his lackeys.

It would also bring him back to his daughter.

* * *

Everyone had retired early that night, in order to be fully rested and ready for their journey the following morning. The plan was to wake up just before sunrise in order for them to make good timing. It was a three day trip, but Sakura had worked alongside Shikamaru to try and establish a shorter way to Suna. Their new course would take them only a little more than two days; if everything went according to plan.

By the time midnight rolled around, only two people were still awake.

Sasuke stared at Sakura with a dull, tired expression, watching as she paced across the room, walking to the window and then back again. She stretched her arms and shoulders as she did so, working out the kinks in her sore, still-healing arms.

"Sakura…" Sasuke groaned, leaning his head back against the wall behind the couch. He currently sat on the couch, watching with exhausted eyes as she walked around the room.

"I'm not sleeping until I can rotate my arms in a full circle," she spoke in a rushed voice as she carefully lifted an arm and swung it back slowly, bringing it back in front of her, "without it hurting," she added, wincing slightly.

"You're going to reinjure yourself."

"No I'm not. It's common for physical therapy to be slightly painful," she switched arms as she walked, "my body needs to readjust to moving around."

"But at a slower rate."

"Don't have time for that," she replied, annoyance clear in her voice. She shot him a frustrated look, never once halting her feet or arms.

"And how are you supposed to protect yourself if you can hardly move."

"If it comes down to it, I can hold my own," she didn't look at him once as she spoke, instead focusing on her stretches.

"Sakura," he sighed.

"I'll be fine," she snapped. She paused for a moment, faltering in her motions, before frowning to herself and resuming her walk.

Sasuke has to resist the urge to sigh again and instead stood up, walking over to her and stepping directly in front of her. When she ignored him and went to walk around him, he stopped her by grabbing her shoulders.

"Sakura. Stop." He kept his grip loose, but squeezed her shoulders once firmly, to let her know that he wasn't joking around. "You need to sleep."

"I can't," she said, easily pulling a shoulder out of his grip. "I can't sleep, Sasuke, so _you_ stop it." He did not remove his other hand, keeping his grip firmly on her upper arm.

"It's going to be okay," he said quietly, looking down on her with a soft expression. "Things are going to be alright."

"I can't—I just can't," she stopped speaking when she began to choke on her words. "Damnit," lifting a hand to her face, she covered her eyes and turned her head, refusing to look Sasuke in the eye. She stood her ground for a long moment, working hard to keep her composure, until Sasuke spoke again.

"Hana is going to be alright."

As if the words were the key to unlocking a dam, a series of intense emotion flowed out of Sakura at that moment, freezing her where she stood. She kept her eyes averted, her hand resting against her forehead, as her shoulders shook with her quiet sobs.

He knew she hated crying in front of him. She had confessed it to him all those years ago during one of their nights in the woods together.

"_I don't like being seen as weak or useless, just because I show my damn emotions more than others_," she'd thrown a rock across the clearing, embedding it into a far away tree with her frustration. "_But when people see me cry, it's as if they're looking at the words 'WEAK' tattooed on my damn forehead_."

So as she stood before him, shaking her head in anger as she willed her tears to go away, Sasuke knew that she was embarrassed—ashamed even—at her display of emotion. He did the only thing he could think to do.

Wrapping his arms around her, he gently pulled her into a hug.

He could hear the sharp intake of breath that caught itself in Sakura's throat as she stiffened at the contact. Sasuke frowned, glancing down at her pink head just beneath his. Her hand had dropped once more to cover her eyes again, and her other hand was now lightly gripping the front of his shirt. He could feel her hand shaking through the thin material as she attempted to keep herself composed.

It had been years since he'd held her like this, and even so, she'd always been the one to initiate contact. This was the first time he'd ever been the one to hug _her_. And as he held the shaking woman in his arms, his chest tightened.

"_She never stopped loving you_."

At that moment, Sasuke hoped that Naruto's words weren't true.

He didn't deserve her love. He never had. For years and years he did nothing but push her away, denying her feelings for him and rejecting her affections. He hardly even wanted to think about how many times he'd been the cause of her tears.

After another long moment, Sasuke hesitated at first, but eventually leaned down slightly, pressing his cheek against hers, his mouth directly beside her ear. "You're not weak, Sakura."

A small sob escaped her mouth as his words registered with her, "I—I…" letting her hand finally fall from her face, she kept her eyes closed tight, as if she could keep her tears locked within her. But as a tear escaped, she shook her head in frustration before pressing her face into his chest, burying herself in his arms.

Sasuke did not say anything; he didn't have to. Instead he stood there with her in his arms, holding her tightly as she clung to him desperately, crying softly into the fabric of his shirt.

Eventually, he lost track of time. But Sakura's cries eventually quieted, her grip on his waist loosened, and her breathing steadied itself out.

Sasuke wished that he could stand there for longer, holding her in his arms; something about the intimate gesture made him feel comfortably warm. It was as if this was what was right in the world, it was something that he needed. But he knew he couldn't indulge, he couldn't lose himself and allow himself to be overcome by emotions—he couldn't be slowed down.

Pulling away from her slightly, he looked down at her face just as her eyes reopened. She stumbled slightly, catching herself before Sasuke had to steady her. As she let out a long yawn, rubbing lightly at her tired, reddened eyes, he had to repress a smile. She was practically dead on her feet.

Gently, he reached forward, bending down slightly as he gathered her into his arms. Sakura said nothing, only allowing herself to rest her head against his shoulder as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Leaving the apartment, Sasuke carried her up the stairs, almost surprised when Sakura said nothing and instead kept her tired eyes focused in front of them, watching as he closed in on his apartment.

Walking through the doorway, he quietly noted the location of the rest of his teammates. Hanabi was out cold on the couch, buried up to her neck in layers of blankets, whereas Lee and Shikamaru each occupied a small space on the floor in front of the couch.

Carrying his feet lightly across the floor, he stepped into his room, closing the door swiftly with a foot, before approaching his bed.

She'd been sleeping on a rickety old couch for days now. She needed a real night's sleep.

Leaning over the bed slightly, he lowered her carefully onto the mattress, removing her arms from their spot around his neck. She still said nothing, but when he looked at her face he only found her eyes trained on his face, a look of exhaustion and confusion swept upon her. He averted his eyes as he reached over her slightly, grabbing the comforter and covering her in the thick, warm material.

"Thank you." Her voice was so quiet, so soft, that Sasuke had almost missed it. Meeting her eyes once more he pursed his lips, nodding once before straightening his position. "Wait," before he could step away from the bed, she grabbed his hand, pulling it back towards the bed, "don't go."

Sasuke stared back into her half-lidded eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. He couldn't stay here with her. He _shouldn't_ stay—he couldn't allow himself to get distracted by anything, even Sakura. He turned his head toward the door and took another step, effectively pulling his hand out of Sakura's weak grasp.

"Sasuke," halting his motions he turned toward her as he heard the sound of sheets ruffling, "please." She was now sitting up, leaning against her hand as she looked toward him with a desperate expression. "Please stay."

He swore silently to himself as he broke eye contact with her, instead gazing out toward the window on the opposite end of his room. He wanted more than anything to be able to deny her his company. He wanted the ability to turn right back around and walk out of the room without another thought.

He wanted to honestly say that he didn't feel anything towards her.

Walking around the opposite side of the bed, he slowly climbed in, sitting himself on top of the covers, leaning his back against the headboard.

But he'd promised himself a long time ago that he'd stop lying to himself.

Sasuke waited as Sakura covered herself in the blanket once more before scooting herself closer to him, only stopping when the tip of her nose was only inches away from his side. Once she paused, pulling the blanket tighter around her, he lifted his arm and hesitated.

"_She never stopped loving you_."

As gently as he could, he lowered his arm, resting it above her pillow, as he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to bring her some comfort in one of the only ways he knew. As his hands moved, she was asleep within minutes, her face becoming peaceful as her worried expression faded completely and she fell into unconsciousness. Sasuke could hardly believe how much Katahana really reminded him of Sakura.

In her sleep, she scooted herself closer to him, snuggling up against his side. Sasuke forced himself to look away from her face as his chest tightened.

They'd be on the road soon. Then they'd travel as fast as they could to Suna, and they'd finally be reunited with Katahana.

Things would start getting better soon; things would be okay.

They _had_ to.

* * *

Jumping awake suddenly, Sasuke immediately turned to his right, only to find a sleeping woman still curled up beneath the covers. Letting his head fall backwards, he looked up at the ceiling and willed his breathing to calm down. It was common for him to have nightmares, but for him to have such _vivid_ dreams about Sakura—about losing her, specifically—wasn't only out of the ordinary, it was downright terrifying.

But with a light touch, he brushed the tips of his fingers across her forehead and down her cheek, as if to confirm the fact that yes, she was there and yes, she was alive and well. Allowing his eyes to wander, he took note of the sky beginning to lighten in the distance; daybreak was not far away.

Slowly removing himself from the bed, he made his way into the main room only to find Shikamaru and Hanabi already awake. Shikamaru looked over at him from his spot by the windowsill and nodded toward Sasuke, acknowledging his presence. He was fully dressed and appeared to be fully awake as well.

Hanabi on the other hand was still groggily sorting through a few items in her pack, only taking note of Sasuke's appearance when she turned around to pick up her sandals.

"Oh," her tired voice cracked slightly, "hey Sasuke. I didn't know you were up here."

He'd looked away from her before she'd even finished speaking, disregarding her and giving his attention to Shikamaru, who was currently approaching him.

"Lee's downstairs with Nori. I think he's helping her pack food for us for our trip." As Shikamaru spoke, his eyes wandered from Sasuke to his bedroom door and back again. "Sakura wasn't downstairs when I checked earlier, so I'm assuming she's…"

"Sleeping." Sasuke answered brusquely, crossing his arms.

"Ah," Shikamaru nodded to himself, "well we're planning on leaving within the next half hour, so we need to make sure she's up soon."

"I can get her stuff together for her while she sleeps for a little longer," Hanabi offered, standing herself up and stretching her arms over her head. "She needs the rest more than we do."

"Sounds good," Shikamaru agreed, "I'm going to send one last message back to Konoha before we go."

Sasuke idly made his way down the stairs after Shikamaru, stopping at Nori's apartment and walking into her kitchen. He found her fixing some sort of meal together before handing it to Lee, who stood beside the woman, towering over her tiny frame.

"Good morning, Sasuke," she said without turning around to see him. He was going to nod to her before he realized that she still wasn't looking at her; then he decided that it didn't particularly matter anyway. Not choosing to remain in their company any longer he walked into the main room to gather his pack so he could prepare himself for their trip.

He felt oddly eager, the excitement of their departure coursing throughout his body; from his fingers all the way down to his toes. His muscles waited in anticipation for the exhilarating run. He was more than ready to finally hit the road.

Arranging and then rearranging his weapons he traveled back up to his apartment, only to find Hanabi helping a still-drowsy Sakura arrange her items. He only watched for a quick moment, looking away after seeing Sakura wince from bending down too quickly.

Rummaging through his closet, he grimaced as he thought to himself. There were so many ways that this trip could go wrong. He wasn't an idiot; he knew Sakura was merely putting on a tough façade in order to keep everyone from worrying about her.

The others may have been buying it, but Uchiha Sasuke wasn't a fool.

After changing clothes and making the final adjustments to his gear, he walked back out into his apartment, only to find it cleared out and empty. Fully prepared, he went to Nori's apartment, only to find it practically empty as well. Hearing the low hum of voices, he glanced out the window only to see everybody already outside, making their final preparations.

Before he could turn to walk out of the apartment, the sudden appearance of Nori before him halted him in his steps.

"You've got quite a trip ahead of you," she said with a smile, handing him a small bundle, "there's about a day's worth of food in there; don't let it go to waste now, you hear?"

Sasuke looked down at the package in his hands, expression softening as he looked back to her face. She stood smiling up at him as he carefully placed the food into his pack before turning back toward her.

"I swear," she laughed to herself once, a short cackling sound, "you Uchiha are one hell of a bunch."

Sasuke could feel his mouth drop open slightly as his brow furrowed with thought. He'd never mentioned that he was an Uchiha to her. And he was almost certain it had never come up in conversation since he arrived here with his team.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, boy. I've known who you were since the day I saw you back there in the street. You don't honestly think I'd just pick any random stranger off the side of the road now, would ya?" She laughed to herself again, as if enjoying her own joke. "No, you're the splitting image of your mother."

Sasuke stood shocked, trying to keep his head from spinning and his thoughts from careening out of control. She had known who he was? She knew who his mother was?

"I married an Uchiha when I was young, very young." She shuffled over to her kitchen table as she spoke, pulling a chair out and sitting herself down. "By the time I was 19 I was pregnant with my third child. But when I was twenty-two, my husband died—he was killed in battle during the 2nd shinobi war. Being young and widowed, I basically went mad. My late husband's sister took in my children and I left Konoha for a while. About ten years to be exact.

"I came back to find that my eldest daughter had followed in my steps and married young. She was already a mother at sixteen to a beautiful baby girl." Nori paused to herself, still smiling. "She was named Mikoto after my late-husband's mother."

Sasuke felt his mouth go dry as he listened to her speak. The likelihood of this being true was extremely rare; but she did not once falter with her words. She knew _exactly_ what she was talking about. There was no way Sasuke could doubt her.

"I won't go into too much more detail," she said, waving a hand dismissively toward him, "but I stuck around for about another ten years or so, until my son was killed in battle, just like his father had been." She paused, shaking her head and frowning. "I wish I had stayed in the village, but I couldn't do it. I left right before your mother graduated from the academy. I never returned, but I heard years later about the massacre. I returned only once, just after the memorial service to pay my respects."

She let out another cackle, "You don't know how crazy it was when I saw you in the street that day, boy. I would recognize an Uchiha from anywhere, but you resemble your mother so much it's ridiculous." Her expression softened as her laughter died down. "You've been through hell and back boy. That's a sure thing. But let it be known that you, and that daughter of yours, are the last of the clan, the last of a powerful legacy.

"There are so many others like me out there, who were friends or family to the Uchiha in some way, and like me, they want more than anything to see that clan redeemed." She stood up from her seat and walked up to Sasuke once more. "Boy, I couldn't think of any better person to trust the future of the Uchiha with, than you." Patting his cheek affectionately one final time, she turned and walked around him, placing items back in their spot and cleaning up her mess from cooking. "Now get going—your friends are out there waiting for you."

Sasuke was frozen from shock, still unable to fully process what he'd just heard from her. But somehow, by sheer willpower possibly, without a word he managed to drag his feet out the doorway, down the stairwell, and outside. Mind still reeling, he tried to shake his confusion out of his head as he stared at his teammates before him.

It appeared as if they'd been waiting for him, almost all of them sporting curious expressions. But once it was apparent to them that he was not going to say a single word, Shikamaru nodded to the rest of them, and without speaking, they all departed.

As they ran, Sasuke tried to blank out his mind. He tried thinking about the wind, the cool, invigorating feeling it had upon his skin. He tried focusing on the noise of the forest around him, with the birds beginning to wake and the animals starting to move. He tried focusing on anything else but the present.

But when a flash of pink shot out ahead of him, he couldn't help but get dragged roughly back to the real, living world.

He watched as Sakura ran ahead of him, her hair flying out behind her, her legs racing and her body shooting through the trees. Out of his peripheral sight, he saw Shikamaru and Lee share a look.

Sakura was running faster than the rest of the group, her speed more than what was deemed appropriate for team travel. Sasuke knew as well as the rest of them that there was a reason teams always travelled together; one being that they needed to stay close in case of attack from enemies. The other reason being that most ninjas traveled at different speeds. In order for the team to stay together a common pace had to be set, and currently, Sakura was on the verge of completely abandoning the team, her speed too fast-paced for the rate of travel at which everyone else was currently abiding by.

Shikamaru shook his head in exasperation as he sped up a bit more; Sasuke assumed he was going to tell her to slow down. But before their team leader could do anything, Sasuke jumped forward, meeting his eyes, and stopped him.

"I'll handle it."

Without waiting for a reply—or even needing one, really—he quickly sped up, his speed matching Sakura's. As he ran alongside her he looked toward her, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"Sakura," he called, waiting for her to direct her attention to him. She spared him a quick glance before resuming her sprint. "Sakura, slow down."

She glared at him, pushing off of a thick branch and launching herself ahead of him a good distance. Sasuke was right behind her, getting a bit frustrated with her stubbornness.

"Sakura," he was at her side once more, "you need to slow down."

"We need to get there quickly."

"And we will. But you're going to wear yourself out." He paused, watching as she did not slow her pace. "If you don't slow down, you're going to be exhausted by mid-day." She still did not acknowledge him. "It's going to take longer to get there if you do this; longer to get to Hana."

Sakura winced as his words reached her ears. She swore silently, keeping her head focused on the ground below them as they ran. After a minute Sasuke was about to speak again, believing that she still needed more of a reason to slow down, when she looked over at him and nodded once.

As she slowed down slightly, her pace decreasing at a steady rate, she kept her head low, refusing to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke had barely heard her apology, but before he could reply Sakura was back with the rest of the group, running silently alongside Hanabi, her head still down.

He felt sorry for her; deep down he knew that all she really wanted was to get to Katahana, and to get there as soon as possible. It was only understandable that she was being impatient and a bit stubborn.

Slowing his speed as well, he fell in step in between Shikamaru and Lee, keeping his eyes ahead and his senses on alert.

In only a matter of days, they'd be in Suna.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated. This month my main focus has been on my series of one-shots for SasuSaku month called My Heart Is Here. You can go check it out if you'd like.

But in all honesty please don't be surprised if I don't update every week. At the speed in which the story is developing, it probably won't be too odd to see new chapters two weeks apart or so. Remember, this story is a work in progress, so your patience is super duper appreciated!

Other than that, I hope you guys have been enjoying the story. Same thing goes for the manga. As for me? I just want Gaara to show up at the damn battlefield. Like literally that's all I care about at this point. Although a cute NaruHina or SasuSaku moment would be sweet too. But mainly I just want my baby to show up and kick some ass with his sand.

Again, thanks for the patience! Please review.


	22. Chapter 22

The air was cool that night, making their hair stand on edge and forcing their cloaks out of their packs and onto their bodies. They were almost at the edge of the Land of Wind when they decided to call it a night. It would be safer for them to pause and rest before reaching the border, due to the lack of cover that the desert provided.

They'd been stopped for a few hours now, some of them attempting to sleep, and others trying to distract themselves.

Sasuke sat a bit farther away from the group than the rest of them, not wanting to bother anyone who was actually attempting to sleep.

With a wire string attached to a kunai, he sat against a tree, throwing the kunai into a tree a few feet away from him, and yanking it back out with the string. He repeated this motion for almost an hour. But hearing something in the distance, he paused.

Frowning, he stood up, walking around the edge of the clearing, glancing towards his teammates as he did so. Shikamaru and Hanabi were sleeping, Lee was on watch. And Sakura was…

He halted as he scanned the clearing, not finding her. Panic beginning to bubble up inside him, he strode up to Lee, glaring. "Where is Sakura?"

A little bit taken aback by his demanding question, Lee did not speak, but instead lifted up his hand, pointing a finger past Sasuke. Turning his head roughly, he almost immediately spotted the dim pink color a little ways away.

Allowing himself to calm down, he repressed a sigh and began walking towards her, feet dragging lazily through the cool, damp grass.

It wasn't until he heard the same noise when his frown deepened—it was coming from her. As he approached her, stepping on a crisp twig, her head shot toward him, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Sasuke," she breathed out, as he finally reached her, "you scared me."

As he walked around the tree, he couldn't help but notice the way she was covering herself with her cloak. It almost looked as if she were hiding something…

"Sasuke?" Her expression was uneasy as she shifted uncomfortably in her spot.

"What's wrong?"

"I—nothing." She replied quickly, tightening her fingers around the edge of the cloth and pulling it closely around her. When he disregarded her words and bent down to pull at the end of the material she jumped, "It's just… a few blisters I'm healing." She sighed as she opened the cloak up, uncovering her bare feet.

Sasuke grimaced. Her dainty feet were covered in red sores and blemishes. She re-covered them quickly, moving her hands down to her feet beneath the cloak. "Healing them isn't hard," Sasuke watched as the light green glowed through the material, "it just stings really badly." Her point was emphasized as she bit back a hiss of pain. Steadily releasing the breath she'd been holding, she let out a shaky laugh. "It may seem odd, but healing blisters and burns hurt almost more than healing gashes and broken bones do. Lots of nerve endings in the skin." She explained, shooting him a dry smile.

"You can't run with those," he said quietly, staring her down with a look of disapproval mixed with concern.

"Can and will," she replied defiantly. "Stop trying to get me to slow down. It's not going to work, Sasuke."

"I'm starting to realize that," he said tiredly, running a hand over his face. "At least tell me you're going to get some sleep." When she did not immediately reply he looked at her with an exasperated look.

"I'll try?" She tried smiling but the gesture looked more like a grimace than anything. "How's that?"

Sasuke groaned, moving himself so that he was no longer kneeling, but sitting across from her, leaning back on his hands. "Good enough, I guess."

She let out a light, more genuine laugh at his expense. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm just so… so _excited_." Her smile brightened as she dug around in her pack and retrieved a couple small bandages. As she lightly wrapped her feet she looked back up at him with a questionable look. "What about you?"

"What?" Sasuke bit his tongue, choosing to play stupid rather than go along with her curiousity. She didn't need to know that he'd only gotten a handful of hours of sleep in the past couple of weeks. More than anything, he really didn't feel like hearing her chastise him for being hypocritical.

"You know? Sleeping? What is that like, a foreign thing to you now?"

He shot her a wry look. "Funny."

"Here's a deal; I'll go to sleep, if you do too."

Sasuke had to repress a sigh. She may be bothersome, but he had to give it to her, she was clever. "No deal."

"And why not?"

"Because I can't sleep."

"And neither can I," she crossed her arms, sporting a slight smirk. "The only difference here is that you haven't even tried."

On the verge of standing up and retreating back to his stringed kunai, he turned and looked back toward his old spot across the clearing. His train of thought was halted abruptly though, as her hand grabbed his wrist. Looking at her, confused at her movement, he raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Come here," she said quietly, tugging lightly on his arm. Patting the space beside her, she scooted aside slightly, offering him the spot next to her. When he did not move, she pulled again, a little more firmly. "Please?"

Biting the inside of his cheek he allowed himself to move, slowly shifting himself beside her. Leaning his back up against the tree, he tried to make himself comfortable against the rough, hard bark.

Sakura leaned back slightly, allowing her posture to slouch a bit. Arranging her cloak over herself in a comfortable way, she shot Sasuke a sideways glance, smiling at him gently before closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the tree.

Sasuke took this opportunity to watch her a bit more closely. She looked healthier—very much so. Although her cheekbones and collarbones were still protruding more than they should have and the circles under her eyes had yet to lighten up. But she had some color back in her cheeks. She actually looked _alive_.

"I used to tuck her in every night," she began speaking after being silent for a few minutes. "Up until her 6th birthday, that is." Sakura smiled to herself as she spoke. "She'd told me that she was a big girl now and that I didn't need to tuck her in like a little baby." She let out a light laugh, "Sometimes I wonder what she would say to me if she knew I came into her room and tucked her in after she falls asleep."

Sasuke did not reply, instead he watched with a curious gaze as she sat beside him, eyes closed and smiling.

"I try not to baby her. Really, I don't. But sometimes it's hard not to. I guess that's one of the reasons I didn't want her to enter the academy yet."

"She has to be able to protect herself," Sasuke mumbled. When she opened her eyes slightly and glanced up at him, he averted his eyes, instead choosing to look out ahead of him. To look at anything _except_ her.

"I know that, Sasuke. It's just… it's scary to think that one day she'll be going off on missions and doing things that could potentially get her hurt or killed or…"

"Why did your parents let you enroll?" Sasuke didn't even know why he spoke the words, but once they left his mouth he snapped his mouth shut. He cursed to himself; he really needed to stop talking.

"My mom was set against it completely. But well, I didn't have any friends when I was younger and my dad told her that it would 'build character' or something like that. I don't think they ever intended for me to stay in the academy for very long. I remember before graduation they sat me down and asked me if I really wanted to be a ninja." She paused, "I'm pretty sure they were hoping I'd say no. But a couple months after that we were already off on our first mission out of the village."

Sasuke nodded to himself as he thought back. He couldn't remember the name of the bridge builder that they were assigned to escort, but he couldn't forget Zabuza or Haku. That was the mission that had nearly killed him. He remembered returning to the village and taking his training so much more seriously after that.

He had been furious with himself, humiliated even, for the fact that he'd been beaten. Of course, at the time he never took into consideration that he'd helped take down an S-rank criminal. To him, a loss was a loss.

"Either way, I just want her to be happy. She's been begging me to enroll her for a couple years now." She paused, a frown falling upon her face. "I wish I'd enrolled her sooner…"

They were both silent after that, both of their minds drifting toward Katahana.

As he let his mind wander, he hardly noticed when his eyelids started getting heavier and when Sakura rested her head on his shoulder and curled up beside him. Maybe a little bit of rest wouldn't hurt. After all, he needed to be at full strength for the next day. He needed to see his daughter…

But just before his mind slipped completely into unconsciousness, his eyes shot forward as the quick sound of clanking metal alerted him.

His eyes had been opened for hardly a second before he was on his feet and his sharingan was activated.

Standing in front of him a few feet was Lee, who was currently deflecting kunai after kunai, effectively driving them off their course and away from their intended target. Or tar_gets_.

At the sound of Sasuke rising to his feet, Lee shot a quick glance over his shoulder, but upon recognizing the presence as a comrade and not an enemy, he returned his eyes back in front of him and toward the attacking ninja. Yet, in that split second, he'd missed one knife.

Sasuke barely had time to react as he reached out and struck the kunai, almost too late to keep it from striking Sakura where she sat, still disoriented. But instead of striking her in between the eyes, it merely grazed the side of her head, causing Sakura to let out a quick hiss of pain before jumping to her feet in shock.

Eyes wide, he watched as the blood flowed down the side of her face, staining her cheek with red. Turning back forward, he shot ahead of Lee and toward his enemy.

For a moment, everything went black.

It wasn't until he heard someone screaming—Sakura screaming—that he finally stopped.

Pausing suddenly, almost stumbling over his own two feet as he did so, Sasuke turned around, searching for her. It wasn't until she realized that she was screaming _at_ him, yelling at him to stop, when he faltered.

"_Sasuke!"_ her voice cracked as she shouted across the clearing, "Stop it! Sasuke please!"

The smell was the next thing he registered. The stench of burning wood and grass and earth was suddenly all he noticed. And with wide eyes, he spun in a quick circle.

Amaterasu.

Behind the sound of Sakura's screaming, another voice, still female, was crying out as well.

"Sasuke!" He hadn't even realized when she'd reached him, but soon enough she'd grabbed his hand and was pulling him towards where she'd just came. "You need to put it out! You need to stop it!"

Still in shock he followed her as she ran across the clearing, and once she paused he had to resist the urge to swear loudly.

Hanabi was on the ground, crying out in pain as black flames ate away at the bandages on her calf.

A split-second later, the flames were extinguished, and just as soon as they disappeared, Sakura was on her hands and knees beside the girl, peeling the charred remains of the wraps off of her burnt skin. Her hands were already glowing green and over the wound when Sakura turned back toward Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" She screamed again, "Get rid of it! You need to put it out!"

Upon realizing that there was still so much fire around them, Sasuke didn't keep his words silent as he swore to himself repeatedly, turning and extinguishing the flames as his eyes fell upon them.

It had taken him under a minute to rid the forest of amaterasu, but by the time he had extinguished all of the flames, Sakura was already finished healing Hanabi and was now back on her feet, stalking towards him angrily.

She didn't even give him a moment to speak before she'd slapped him across the face.

Stunned, he stumbled a bit from the impact, his head ringing and his cheek stinging. It wasn't until he steadied himself and looked at her face that he saw the angry tears streaming down her face.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" She spat angrily. The blood that covered the side of her face had caused some of her hair to become matted, stuck to her cheeks. "You could've gotten all of us _killed_!"

Sasuke was still reeling from everything that had happened. It wasn't until he realized that he didn't _remember_ what happened, when he looked behind Sakura.

Hanabi was on the ground, no longer crying but still in obvious pain. Kneeling beside her was Lee, and standing above the two, arms crossed and with an angry look on his face, stood Shikamaru. It wasn't until he noted that Shikamaru was staring at him when he looked back at Sakura.

"What the hell happened, Sasuke?" she asked, her voice quieter, yet still desperate for answers. "Tell me!"

"I—" he closed his mouth shut immediately, grabbing his head with his hands, trying desperately to remember. Yet the more and more he thought, the more frustrated he grew. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you—"

"I don't know!" he snapped finally, throwing his hands back to his sides and glaring down at her.

Sakura did not flinch once at his outburst, instead she still watched him with a desperate expression, studying his face for something. An answer maybe?

Sasuke almost expected her to say something more, but instead he simply watched as she shook her head, turned around, and walked away.

He watched her back as she approached the rest of her teammates, only looking away when he saw her kneel back down beside Hanabi.

Before he could take a step in the opposite direction, Shikamaru was standing beside him.

"I suggest you find your things," he said curtly. "We're moving again."

When the Nara man finally walked away—but not before giving Sasuke a look of utter contempt—Sasuke clenched his fists together and stalked off.

He didn't know what had happened. He didn't have the answers they wanted so what the hell was he supposed to do? What did they want to hear from him?

Growing more angry than frustrated, Sasuke located his things a couple minutes later, yet took his time returning to the rest of the group.

Twenty minutes later he finally made his way back only to find everybody waiting for him. Shikamaru was the only one who spared him a glance though; everyone else was busying themselves with something else. Lee was adjusting the wrappings around his forearms, Hanabi was watching Lee, and Sakura was simply staring out ahead of the group, not even trying to hide the fact that she was ignoring him.

When Sasuke stopped his movements, finally reaching them, he watched as Hanabi inched closer to Lee, standing behind him slightly and keeping her eyes averted. Sasuke allowed his eyes to fall to her leg. It was wrapped in a few light layers of bandages, and she appeared to be favoring her other leg a bit more, but other than that, she appeared to be alright. Sasuke had to wonder just how good Sakura's healing abilities really were…

He couldn't stop the guilt he felt though. It was an accident. Wasn't it? He had to resist the urge to slam his fist into a nearby tree out of frustration. He needed to know what had happened. Out of all the times he'd ever used amaterasu, he'd never had that kind of reaction before. He'd never blacked out.

His head started to hurt as his thoughts troubled him further.

"Let's go." The command did not come from Shikamaru, but from Sakura instead, who now stood at the front of the group, preparing to lead them.

Sasuke watched as his team took off silently, even hesitating a moment before shooting into the trees to follow them. He kept his distance though. It was the least he could do.

He didn't want to fuck anything else up.

* * *

**A/N**: I figured I'd post a new chapter in honor of Sasuke's birthday yesterday. I'll probably post the next chapter sometime next week, definitely before I go on vacation (I'll be at the beach from the 3rd to the 10th). I promise that the next chapter will be quite a bit longer than this one.

As for the manga, I'm just sick and tired of watching Obito acting fucking crazy. Like yeah, okay we get it; Obito is insane and no one can defeat him. I just want something else to happen already… like Gaara showing up or Hinata doing something cute or _fuck_ even Madara and Hashirama doing something—_anything_ really; having a staring contest, punching each other, making out, etc…

Oh, and story time! So you know how I've been writing this since the winter? Well, the fact that I write fanfiction isn't really a widely-known thing; in fact the only people who knew that I wrote it were my younger sister, but even she didn't really know or care too much about the specifics. So while my boyfriend and I were on vacation last month, he was using my laptop and accidentally discovered my story.

So at 1AM, half-asleep and embarrassed out of my mind I had to own-up to writing fanfics. In my defense, he absolutely _hates_ both Sasuke and Sakura, so there was no way in hell I wanted him to know I'd written a multi-chapter fanfiction about them. Also the fact that his writing is so good and intimidates me so much it makes me feel like what I write is like a kindergartener's work. But he's read it all (including the stuff I haven't posted yet) and is apparently enjoying it, so I guess that's a bit of a relief.

Moral of the story: don't keep secrets from your boyfriend. Even if that secret just so happens to be a sub-par fanfic about the pairing he hates with a passion. You never know, he may actually like it. (Hi Clay!)

Either way, I hope you guys liked the chapter. Review and let me know what you think.


	23. Chapter 23

They had made good time considering the circumstances: Hanabi's injury, Sakura's overall lack of energy, and everyone's blatant exhaustion. But as they stopped for the third time of the day, Sasuke could feel tensions rising higher and higher.

"I'm sorry," Hanabi said, letting her backside hit the sand beneath her as she let out a frustrated sigh. "My muscles just keep spasming. It's killing me."

They'd entered Wind Country an hour after they'd departed during the night, and they'd been travelling through the desert for hours now.

Sasuke had thought that running in the snow was a pain in the ass, but after spending hour after hour sprinting through the sand, he discovered a newly found hatred for the desert.

Getting traction was obnoxiously difficult and seemingly impossible. They kept kicking up sand and at one point they had to stop because Shikamaru had stumbled slightly and kicked up so much sand that it actually caused Lee to stop—causing everyone else to stop as well—and fish out his canteen to clear his eyes.

They were also starting to run low on water, and the heat of the sun was unforgiving on their backs, heating their bodies to the point that Sasuke swore he wouldn't be surprised if one of them ignited into flames spontaneously.

But as the thought of flames eating away at their bodies wandered through his mind, Sasuke quickly shut out the mental image. The memory of his _own_ flames eating away at the skin on his teammate was still fresh in his mind.

Sakura knelt beside Hanabi, slightly out of breath. "Here, let me—"

"Sakura no, it's okay." Hanabi reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrists with her own. "I don't want you wasting all your chakra on me. I need like, five minutes _tops_, and I'll be alright." She gently pushed Sakura's arms back toward her own body as she allowed her own hands to light up in a pale, green glow. "I can dull the pain for a few more hours. Don't worry about me."

Sasuke could see the pain in Sakura's eyes; he knew that she wanted to help some more, but he could also tell that she was at her limit. She knew it, too.

As they watched Hanabi tend to her burns, Sasuke kept a close eye on Sakura. They'd been stopped for a couple minutes yet she'd still not quite recovered her breathing. She had her hands on her head and she was standing uneasily, shifting her weight from one foot to the other every few seconds.

Looking out into the distance, he could see nothing but sand and sky. At the horizon the only thing their eyes could spot was where the earth and the clouds met; Sasuke _knew_ they were close though. They couldn't have been more than an hour away. They'd most likely arrive at Suna by sundown.

Something fluttered in his chest as he turned his eyes away from the distance and back toward his team. Suna was close. _Katahana_ was close.

He suddenly looked up to find Sakura staring at him. Yet, as his eyes fell upon her, she quickly looked away, moving her attention back toward Hanabi.

He was extremely on edge and anxious and all he wanted to do was get a move on. He could only _imagine_ what Sakura was currently going through.

But things would be okay. They'd get to Suna and they'd see Katahana safe and sound and Sakura would finally be reunited with her and then things would be okay. They had to be okay.

Things were a blur for a little while after that.

Hanabi had deemed herself 'alright and good to go' and they'd ran off towards the Hidden Sand. Sasuke didn't remember when or how it'd happened but at one point he looked around and noted Sakura's absence. It wasn't until he spotted her, far ahead of the rest of the group, when he let out the breath of air that he didn't know he'd been holding.

As she distanced herself farther and farther from the rest of the group, Sasuke glanced at the rest of his teammates and noted the looks of exhaustion on their faces. He knew that even if they wanted to, they'd be unable to reach Sakura or tell her to slow down or even to _anything_ other than push their legs farther.

He didn't allow his complete lack of energy to stop him though. It wasn't long after he'd reached her, leaving the rest of their team—quite literally—in the dust. Sasuke did not look at her for a long moment, but when he did, she was glaring at him with a look that screamed '_don't you dare tell me to slow down_'.

As if in response to her silent question, Sasuke pushed his legs a little harder, passing Sakura only by a little bit, but the message was clear enough.

If anyone was going to tell her to stop, it wasn't going to be him.

As they ran, he pretended not to notice her tears. It wasn't until they caught first sight of the village in the distance, when Sakura's pace finally started to taper off. As she fell behind him and disappeared momentarily from his sight, he allowed himself to slow down, too.

Her breaths were starting to come in deep, stuttering gasps. Sasuke could tell that her body was finally giving way. It must have been the view of the Village in the distance, finally so close to them, that made her facial expressions change from frustrated and determined to a look of pure relief.

When she stumbled—the tip of one foot catching behind the heel of her other—Sasuke stopped abruptly as he watched her topple over, landing roughly on her hands and knees in the sand.

He was beside her in an instant. "Sakura."

But she wasn't looking at him. Her arms wobbled and her shoulders shook and he could just hardly see her tears falling into the sand beneath her. This was it. This was her limit.

"We're…" she wheezed, desperately trying to catch her breath, "so _close_." Tears kept dripping one by one into the sand, dampening it between where both of her hands were currently dug into the sand.

Sasuke took one look behind them; he could just barely see their team running towards them. Towards the village. It would be a number of minutes before they reached them though.

He didn't even think twice as he reached down and gently grabbed her around the waist. He didn't know whether or not her lack of response was due to her inability to speak a complete sentence or to the fact that she had just simply given up and didn't _care_ anymore.

Hoisting her up onto unsteady feet, he readjusted his hold on her and swept her feet out from underneath her, holding her close to his chest. Sakura wrapped a weak arm across his shoulders, holding onto the fabric of his shirt with a fragile grip.

As she wheezed and coughed and tried hard to steady herself, Sasuke took one look at her face—distraught, tired, desperate, yet still _determined_—before turning back toward the Village and running at full speed.

It didn't matter that he'd hardly slept in the past few weeks. It didn't matter that his muscles ached and his head throbbed and his mouth was as dry as the desert itself. It didn't matter that he'd been absent for so long and had convinced himself that an eternity alone wouldn't be _too_ bad. No, only two things mattered now. The woman in his arms and the girl that was only a small distance away.

The girl that was waiting for them.

He covered the distance to the entrance of the Village in a flash. It had only been minutes since he'd picked Sakura up, but once she realized that they were finally there, she gripped his shoulders tightly.

Looking down on her, he noted her eyes gazing up at him desperately. "Let me walk."

"Sakura…"

"I need," inhale, "to walk in there on," inhale, "my own."

"You're body is at it's limit—"

"Sasuke." She mustered up a glare, "I can't let her see me like this."

Suddenly, Sasuke's feet stopped, just within the gates of the village. He suddenly understood her motive. It wasn't pride or stubbornness. It was out of fear that her daughter would see her weak, injured, broken. Sakura was everything to Hana; she couldn't see the main source of stability in her young life in a crumpled heap in her estranged father's arms.

As he lowered her slightly, allowing her feet to hit the ground lightly, he watched off to the side as a group of Sand shinobi approached them cautiously. Glaring, Sasuke turned toward them, placing himself in between them and Sakura.

"State your business," a man with a dark headdress demanded. As they walked closer, Sasuke couldn't help but think that the man seemed familiar. But the purple markings on his face made it difficult to identify who it was or how Sasuke knew him.

"We're here to see your Kazekage." He spoke loudly and clearly, as if commanding the ninja to lead the way and to do so at once.

"And what business do you have with the Kazeka—Sakura!"

Sasuke's head shot to the side as he watched Sakura try and stand steadily on her own two feet.

"Hey Kankuro," her breathing was still labored yet she managed a weak smile. As she tried to take a step, she almost stumbled, yet Sasuke quickly grabbed hold of her, propping her back up. Wrapping an arm around her back he secured it there in a tight hold, allowing her other arm to weakly reach upward and rest across his shoulders.

"Sakura, holy shit—" he turned to the three other men standing behind him, all with their own looks of confusion and shock on their faces, "go alert Temari. Tell her that they're here and to give a heads-up to the Kazekage and Hatake Kakashi of the Leaf." He turned back toward the two, looking at them with a look of sheer surprise.

As he reached out toward Sakura, as if to offer some more assistance, Sasuke almost lost his temper.

"I've got her," he snapped, "now lead the way."

Kankuro straightened back up, allowing his arm to fall back to his side. Sasuke didn't care to waste any more time standing in the entryway to the Village. The sand nin could glare at him all he wanted; Sasuke couldn't give a shit.

He did take note of the much-weaker glare that Sakura gave him. Although her look was more reproachful than it was resentful.

But nevertheless he helped her to walk behind their ally as he led them through the dirt streets and toward the Kazekage's offices; the center of all political affairs in the village. Sasuke looked up, squinting into the setting sun as he struggled to identify the kanji for "wind" painted largely with red lettering on the outside of the rounded building.

He could feel his own feet start to drag as they walked, working hard to keep up with Kankuro's brisk strides. They were almost there… almost…

"Kankuro!" Approaching quickly, Sasuke squinted once more against the sun as he tried to identify the people running toward them. "Oh my god, Sakura!"

As they entered his line of sight, he took in their faces. He remembered Temari, the louder one of the three sand shinobi he knew. She immediately ran to Sakura's other side, but before Sasuke could snap at her, like he had with her brother, the presence of someone else caught his attention.

Kakashi stood only a few feet from him, Sai following closely behind. Meeting his old sensei's eyes, he could only stare back as his sensei smiled at him, his eye crinkling. Sasuke could've sworn he saw a tear fall down his cheek, but before he could pay him any closer attention, the sound of some commotion demanded his attention.

"Wait, stop it. Don't do that!" The sound of a door being thrown open roughly—Sasuke could hear the wood splintering—caused his head to jerk up and toward the lower entrance to the offices.

In the doorway stood Ino, leaning down and holding tightly onto someone by the waist—someone small. Yet as Ino allowed her eyes to drift toward where Sakura and Sasuke stood, her grip loosened and she let her arms fall limply at her side.

"Mom?"

Sasuke felt her reaction before he saw it, but suddenly Sakura had pulled free from Sasuke's grip and was dragging her feet toward the building.

It wasn't until he saw her—standing in the doorway, eyes wide, and mouth wide open—when he felt the fluttering feeling in his chest increase tenfold, almost overtaking his senses completely.

The little girl took a couple of uncertain steps down the few stairs that led out onto the street. But as soon as her feet hit the dirt, she took off in a dead sprint.

"MOM!"

"Hana," Sakura called out in reply, falling to her knees, only a few feet in front of Sasuke. "Hana!"

"Mom!" she was a blur of black hair and pale skin but suddenly Hana was there. Launching herself forward, she landed directly into the arms of her mother, clinging to her with all of her young might. She almost knocked Sakura backward, but Sakura had returned the hug with just as much ferocity as she could muster. And when the sounds of their mingled crying reached his ears, his heart felt as if it were being crushed—squeezed in the palm of an enemy's hand—to a point beyond repair.

He had to remind himself numerous times that their cries were due to joy, and not sorrow. But he couldn't help but approach the two cautiously, uncertain but ready to be there if he was needed.

But as he watched them, he couldn't help but wonder how he could ever be needed.

Sakura was holding Hana tightly, uttering calming phrases and 'shh'-ing her and just repeating over and over again the same words.

"I love you. I love you, Hana. I love you so much."

Sasuke couldn't see her tears, but he could hear them in her voice. With every word she spoke, and with every unsteady quiver in her voice, he could see another tear fall down her cheek. He watched as she tried soothing the child, running her hand over her hair repeatedly, but Hana was either not listening or couldn't calm down enough to hear what was going on around her.

The only sounds coming out of her were high-pitched wails.

Sasuke watched as her small body shook violently with sobs. Her hands gripped the back of Sakura's shirt tightly, holding herself to her mother in a tight, desperate embrace. It wasn't long though, before Hana began sobbing words back.

"I love you, Mommy. I'm sorry I'm so sorry. I missed you so much. I'm sorry, Mommy."

As Sasuke stared down at the pair, he almost froze completely when he watched Katahana lift her head from Sakura's chest and look directly at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was flushed and wet with tears and her hair was messy. She did not cease crying as she stared at him, but slowly she released her hold on Sakura's shirt with one of her hands and reached toward him with it.

"Dad," she sobbed, "thank you so much. Thank you for saving her. Thank you thank you thank you." Her sobs remained steadily hysterical but even as she cried, she did not break eye contact or lower her arm.

Sasuke knew what she was waiting for.

He was in a trance, ultimately unable to think about or even control his actions, as he moved his feet forward a few steps and dropped down to one knee beside Sakura. And when Hana's tiny arm wrapped around his midsection as well, holding tightly onto him, he merely watched as he slowly returned the embrace with much hesitance.

"Thank you," she cried more, her voice lowering with Sasuke in much closer proximity. "Thank you, dad. Thank you."

He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her for a long moment; it wasn't until he realized that there were people still around when he lifted his head. His eyes found Kakashi first.

After locking eyes for a moment, he watched as the older man turned toward some nameless ninja and spoke quickly to him. The sand-nin nodded and then walked back to the building, a few other ninja following in his path.

Sasuke looked down at Hana again, taking note of her quiet cries. Her hysterical words had come to a halt, and now she was simply clinging to him and Sakura, whimpering softly. Seeing Kakashi approach out of the corner of his eye, he lifted his head and shot the man a questioning look.

"We need to get back inside," he said quietly. Sasuke followed his eyes as the man glanced to the left of them. Sasuke could see a small group of villagers begin to crowd around them, whispering to each other and sharing their blatant confusion. "Come on."

He offered Sasuke a hand, which he promptly ignored, instead choosing to stand himself up, glaring slightly at the villagers. A few of them looked uneasy with his glance, and a couple even walked away, but as he felt a light tugging on his shirt, he averted his eyes.

Hana was standing before him, looking down at her mother with a worried look in her eye. "Mom?"

Upon seeing Sakura still on her knees, Sasuke soon found himself kneeling beside her once more. As he grabbed her arm, ready to pull her onto her feet, she stopped him with a shake of her head.

"I'm okay," she whispered weakly, mustering up a small half-smile to offer to Hana.

"Your mother is very tired, Hana," he heard Kakashi say, reaching over to pat the young girl on the shoulder. "It's nothing to worry about."

"He's right, Hana. I'm just worn out from all the running." She forced out a small laugh before she placed a hand on one of her knees, using what little energy she had left to stand herself up. Yet as she attempted to walk, she put one leg forward only to have it give out underneath her weight.

"Mom!"

Moving quickly, Sasuke caught her before she hit the sandy road beneath them. His frown intensified and despite her weak protests, he placed an arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, holding her exhausted body close to his chest.

Looking down at Hana he noticed that she hadn't released her hold on his shirt, and as he took a step forward with Sakura in his arms, she still refused to let go. Lifting his eyes he found Kakashi again, standing close by, his body turned toward the main building, beckoning them to follow.

Sasuke trailed Kakashi, still refusing to meet the eyes of the other ninja who stood by silently, having watched the scene unfold before their eyes. It took him a full minute to realize that Kakashi was following Temari's lead. Reaching the entrance, he watched as she took the door in her hands and swung it back and forth on it's hinges, only to see one of the hinges pop completely out of the wall it was attached to.

The woman let out an almost inaudible sigh, glancing at Hana out of the corner of her eye, but she said nothing more. Instead, she gave a couple quick small orders to have the door replaced and led them all inside the building.

As they walked through the halls, Sakura eventually relented and allowed herself to rest her head on Sasuke's chest as they made their way farther into the Kazekage offices. By his side, Hana had readjusted her hold and was still clinging desperately to Sasuke's shirt. Since she was walking so close to him, she stumbled over her feet a couple of times, but she never once let go or allowed it to slow her down.

Watching the small girl, he took note of the absence of tears. He could see where she'd rubbed her hand across her cheeks, spreading a layer of dirt and sand over them in an attempt to dry her face.

They went up a couple flights of stairs before exiting into another hallway. A part of Sasuke wanted to demand to know where they were going, but instead he bit his tongue and followed. He would never admit that his hold on Sakura was starting to weaken, and it was getting more and more difficult to move his feet forward.

"Here," Temari finally ceased her movements and opened a door, holding an arm out for them to enter. "There are lots of rooms in this hall; you'll all be assigned one to stay in for the duration of your stay." Sasuke followed Kakashi into the room, taking note of the small apartment-esque living arrangements.

"I get to stay with mom, right?" Hana asked, panicked. Sasuke could feel her grip on his shirt tighten.

"Of course you do," Temari smiled down at the girl, "I wouldn't dare separate you guys anymore."

"Okay," the girl let out a small sigh of relief, looking toward her mother with a worried expression. "She's going to be okay, right?"

Glancing down at Sakura, Sasuke found that she had finally succumbed to unconsciousness, her exhaustion getting the best of her.

"She's going to be fine," Kakashi assured, "we just need to let her rest."

"Temari," a voice called from the doorway, "everyone else just arrived." Ino walked into the room, closely followed by another sand ninja that Sasuke did not know.

He frowned. He didn't like people that he didn't personally know dealing with a situation that was about him as well. But the rational side of his brain told him to try and give these sand ninja the benefit of the doubt; if his comrades trusted them, then that would be good enough.

"Good," Temari nodded, "you stay here with Sakura and Hana. You two," she looked at Kakashi and then reluctantly toward Sasuke, "follow me."

"There's a bedroom right over here," Ino said, walking over to a door. Sasuke assumed she wanted him to follow. Tightening his hold on Sakura, he followed the woman into the room, taking note of the large bed against the far wall.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he walked over to the bed and carefully lowered Sakura onto the mattress. Before he'd even released his hold, Hana had already climbed into the bed as well, now clinging to her mother's shirt instead.

Sasuke watched as Hana curled up against her, burying her face into the front of Sakura's shirt. He could hear the soft sounds of his daughter sniffling, trying not to cry again, as she lay beside her mother. Her mother who she hadn't seen in _weeks_.

He watched them for a long moment before he forced himself to look away. The scene before him was doing strange things to his body. Trying to ignore the painfully tight feeling in his chest, he turned toward Ino and nodded, turning to walk back out of the room.

Back in the main area, he found Temari and Kakashi waiting for him. Upon his entrance into the room, Temari started her brisk walk back out into the hallway. As they retraced their steps, going back the way that had just come, Sasuke couldn't help but notice how the entire building was strangely… quiet. He had only seen a small handful of people in the entire Kazekage building, but most of those people he'd seen had been Leaf ninja; all of which he knew.

Walking out of a different door than they had entered, they exited out onto a small patio. Eyes scanning upward, he noted their location at the back of the building, far from the main entrance.

"There you guys are," he heard Temari sigh. Following her gaze, he found a small stairway leading up to the veranda they were on. As his eyes spotted the entryway, he soon found the rest of his team.

"Finally caught up," Shikamaru said as he reached the top of the stairs, slightly out of breath. The man shot Sasuke a sideways glance, but upon reading his body language, he could tell that the strategist was not angry with his and Sakura's actions.

Watching his team make their way onto the patio and toward them, he couldn't help but notice Hanabi leaning slightly onto Lee. Her limp that had started off as a slight, hardly-noticeable thing was now blatantly obvious. Allowing himself to glance down at her bandaged leg, he frowned, once more berating himself mentally.

"So," Shikamaru paused, standing before them, "now what?"

"Now, you guys are going to go get some rest." Temari crossed her arms as she studied each of the newcomers. "We'll meet up in the morning to review everything and then go from there."

"Thank goodness," Sasuke heard Hanabi mutter, leaning her head on Lee's shoulder.

"Here," Temari turned back toward the building and started walking again, "let me show you to your rooms."

"You alright, Hanabi?" Kakashi asked, approaching the two worn-out ninja. "Did you hurt your ankle?"

Before he could lean down to inspect her injury, Hanabi forced out a light laugh, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about." She waved a dismissive hand towards the older man. "I'll be fine after a little rest."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he studied her. He didn't understand why she was lying to Kakashi. Granted, having her admit to being injured by his amaterasu wasn't something that would end well, but he would've rather her told him the truth.

Sasuke knew he was the human equivalent of trash; he didn't need anyone trying to make him out to be a better person than he really was.

Her eyes flickered over to meet his for a split second, before she turned back to Kakashi and pulled on another forced smile.

"I see," Kakashi said, straightening back up and shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Well then, let's get a move on."

As the older ninja walked past him, Sasuke met his curious glance. Kakashi definitely knew that something was up. It would only be a matter of time before he knew. He sighed inwardly, letting his head drop slightly as he waited for everyone else to begin walking.

He brought up the rear as he followed the group at a safe distance.

_You don't belong here_.

The nagging voice in his head was taunting him—teasing him by targeting his insecurities.

_These are good people. You're only a monster who hurts. Who destroys._

For several minutes he followed behind everyone else, barely listening as Temari showed everyone where'd they be staying and gave them a few instructions. He was too exhausted to pay attention to her words since he didn't exactly care about what she had to say. The only thing he cared about was just a few doors over, sleeping soundly.

"Sasuke."

Lifting his head at the sound of his name being called, he looked at Shikamaru, who stood in front of him with a concerned look. Sasuke merely stared back at him with a blank expression, waiting for him to speak.

"Did you hear anything Temari was saying?"

He only stared back, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms to show just how much he cared.

Shikamaru sighed, "You're staying with Lee and I," he started walking down the hall, "come on."

Sasuke hadn't realized that everyone else had left; probably in their own rooms, he assumed. He dragged his feet behind Shikamaru, watching as they approached the door to the room that Sakura and Hana were staying.

As they passed the room, Sasuke frowned and looked back at Shikamaru. He didn't want to be too far away from them.

_You don't belong with them anyway._

Sasuke shook his head, trying to rid himself of his anxiety. Thankfully they stopped soon after, entering through a doorway which was only two doors down from Sakura and Hana's room. He was intensely relieved at being so close to them, in case he was needed.

_They'll never need you._

Placing a hand on his forehead, as if to ward off a headache, Sasuke stopped walking and shook his head in slight frustration.

"You alright?"

Sasuke lifted his head to see Shikamaru staring at him with concern. He nodded once. "Headache." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

Walking past his teammates he quickly and easily located the room that would belong to him for the duration of his stay. After closing the door behind him he dropped his pack roughly on the ground by the foot of the bed.

The temptation to simply climb into bed with his dirty clothes and shoes on was overwhelming. But he found the willpower to strip off his dirt-covered and sand-filled garments, and after putting on a fresh set of clothes, he figured it would be good enough for now; he'd shower in the morning.

_It's done_, he tried to tell himself as he climbed into bed, his head finding the pillow and his heavy eyelids finally closing, _I did it._

Truth be told, when he'd made the promise to find Sakura and bring her back alive, he didn't even think it would actually happen. Hell, upon hearing what had happened, for some reason he simply just assumed that she was dead and gone. Especially after he battled Masaru himself…

He allowed himself a slight smirk as his mind started drifting into unconsciousness. She's survived on her own for days after her dangerous encounter with the deadly man. After _his _encounter… well, Sasuke wouldn't have lasted for 10 minutes if it hadn't been for the Leaf ninja that found him and rushed him back to the village.

Yes, he was done for now. But this was only part of the mission he'd given himself. Sakura and Hana were back together; he'd given them at least that much. It wasn't enough though; not by a long shot.

He still had a man to find.

A man to kill.

Then, and only then, would he be done his mission. Only with Masaru's death would Hana be safe and free to go back to the Leaf and live her life. He needed to give them the safety and security they deserved and destroy anyone who dared to lay a hand on either of them.

He owed it to Hana. He owed it to Sakura.

* * *

**A/N**: I know a lot of you weren't expecting Hana to actually be there, but I hope it was a pleasant surprise to see that they arrived safe and sound. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint; please let me know what you think. And as always I love reading your guys' predictions.

Now I have good news, and bad news. The bad news is that I'll be on vacation soon so I won't be posting a chapter next week due to the fact that I won't have internet access. The good news? Since I won't have internet access it'll basically force me to spend more time on the story, so I'll be writing quite a bit this week. We've passed the halfway mark folks, so I hope you're excited to read a shitload of more of this.

About the last Naruto chapter: I can honestly say that if Kishimoto doesn't let Sakura and Hinata jump in and save their boys at least _once_ then I'm gonna be hella pissed. But I liked the last chapter; Tobirama isn't nearly as much of a shithead that I thought he was, and we got to see Naruto acting silly a bit. And GOD the Sasuke/Naruto teamwork just about made my day.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Also, if any of you write NaruHina or SasuSaku fanfics, please let me know! I've been running out of stories to read and I'd love to see what you guys have written. See you all in a couple of weeks!


	24. Chapter 24

At first he thought he was dreaming. He didn't remember having anyone else in the room…

It wasn't until the tiny form under the blankets moved, when he opened his eyes all the way and blinked a few times, trying to focus. Small arms stretched out from underneath the covers, a tiny yawn accompanying the movement. Then, before he could fully comprehend the situation, the little body scooted closer to him, moving so close that it was nearly pressed against his side.

Frowning, he lifted a tired hand and grabbed the heavy comforter, pulling it back only to reveal a sleepy-eyed Hana.

She winced at the light in the room and quickly grabbed the blanket, snatching it cleanly out of Sasuke's grip before pulling it back over her head. Letting out a quiet groan, she scooted closer to him.

Sasuke inched away, "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice still scratchy from sleep.

"Napping," she mumbled, "I'm sleepy."

"Where is Sakur—your mother?" He asked, correcting himself as he pulled the blanket back from her face again.

"She's with Ino-san and Hanabi-san. And I think Kiba-san and Kakashi-san, too." She tried grabbing the blanket again, but Sasuke held it higher than she could reach, keeping it out of her grasp.

"Why aren't you there?"

"They're talking about adult stuff and I'm not allowed to hear," she explained, as if it was something that happened all the time. But as Sasuke thought about it, he came to the conclusion that it probably _did_ happen all the time; especially within the past few months…

He thought to himself for a moment before allowing himself to sit up. Cracking his neck, he frowned as he glanced down at her, finding her pouting back up at him. "How did you get in here?"

"Kakashi-san," she explained simply.

"Okay, how did _he_ get in here?"

The little girl shrugged and then sat up to be closer to eye-level with him. "I think Shikamaru-san let him in. Maybe. I don't know I was sleepy and I wanted to nap."

Sasuke sighed. What? Did they expect him to watch her? He studied her carefully—almost anxiously—as he wondered what possessed them to send her to him. Sure, he'd watched over her for that one week after he'd picked her up off the street, but he hardly did anything except feed her and make sure she didn't tear his place apart.

Was that what babysitting normally entailed?

But, was it still considered babysitting if you're watching your own child?

Shaking his head, Sasuke ran a hand through his messy hair and let out another sigh. He supposed he had to get used to this whole having-a-kid thing… he just wished he knew exactly _how_.

"How long have you been here?"

He watched as she looked at the small clock on the nightstand, studying it for a few seconds. "A few hours?"

Hours? What could they be doing that would take multiple hours to do? He could only hope they hadn't gone over everything without him; grinding his teeth, he scowled. If that were the case then he would _not_ be happy…

Standing up out of bed he paused and turned to look back at her. He needed to take a shower, but now since Hana was there he was almost afraid to leave her alone. She could be alone for ten minutes though, right? He'd done it before.

"Stay here," he ordered, pointing a stern finger at her before rummaging through his pack and retrieving a fresh set of clothes. Before exiting the room to search for the bathroom, he glanced back only to find her hiding back underneath the covers, the blanket once more pulled up past her head.

He cut down the time he spent in the shower as he let his mind wander more and more; for some reason his mind had come up with the thought that Hana could've gotten up and walked out in his absence. So he found himself, only 6 minutes after leaving the room, already back in the room, fully dressed and hair dripping wet only to find Hana still lying in his bed.

"You take quick showers," he heard her mumble from underneath the blanket. "How the heck do you get clean that fast?"

"Come on," he said, ignoring her question. Walking over to the bed he pulled the blanket back once more. This time Hana wasn't half-asleep, instead she was wide awake and already staring at him, almost as if she'd been waiting for him to do that.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she scooted herself off of the bed, skipping over to him eagerly.

"To find the others."

"Okay!" She said excitedly, smiling up at him brightly before taking the lead.

Sasuke almost stopped her, but once he realized that she knew where more things were than he did, he let her lead the way. This had actually been the first time he'd been in the Hidden Sand village. Idly he wondered why he'd never travelled through here on his journeys before, but eventually he reasoned that it must have been because of the fact that he knew the village's Kazekage…

Hana walked with even, determined steps, walking down hallway after hallway, almost as if leading him through a maze. They soon found a set of stairs—a different one than the one he'd travelled up on—and descended, travelling all the way down to the ground level.

He hadn't realized that there were so many levels in this building.

Following Hana for a few more minutes, he even started to doubt if she knew exactly where she was going. She'd only been here for a few days, right? How could she have possibly memorized this pathway?

When he asked her how many times she'd even been in Suna, her reply of "this is my first time!" surprised him.

"You know where we're going, right?"

"Mhm!" she nodded, still marching ahead of her father. "We're almost there!"

Turning down one more hallway, Hana started skipping away, excitedly approaching the double doors at the end of the corridor. Sasuke frowned, watching as she ran ahead and stopped at the entrance. She looked back at him and smiled brightly, waiting for him to catch up.

"Let's go," she said as he finally reached her, pushing the doors open with her hands, "I'm starving."

Wait.

What?

Yet as soon as they were in the room, Sasuke could see where Hana had led him. The room was wide open, tables surrounded by chairs littering the far side of the room. He could see a few ninja sitting around a couple different tables; only one of them turned to face Sasuke and Hana upon their entry.

It was a cafeteria.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. Looking down at Hana, he frowned. "I thought we were going to find the others."

"We are!" she defended as she walked up to the front of the room, grabbing a plate and smiling up at the elderly woman behind the counter, "but I'm really, really hungry."

Sasuke could feel his frustration rising, but as she turned to him and offered him a plate, she smiled up at him happily; the same smile as her mother's.

Cursing himself mentally he grabbed the plate from the child and simply followed her lead.

A few minutes later, she was skipping over to a table of ninja on the far side of the room, her plate filled with food. As he approached, Sasuke realized he recognized both of the men.

"Hi Lee-san! Sai-san!" Hana cheerily approached the table, setting her plate down and sitting beside Sai.

As he stood there, unmoving, Sasuke idly wondered if he could get away with simply turning around and leaving. He did _not _want to have to sit by and try to talk with the two men; he may recognize them as comrades, but that didn't exactly mean he wanted to sit down with them and 'play nice'.

He was at least being civil with everyone. He could only hope they didn't expect any more out of him.

"Hello Hana," the man Sasuke hardly knew, Sai, smiled pleasantly toward her. Something about the way he smiled made Sasuke uncomfortable; it looked unnatural almost. "Hello Sasuke." Then the odd smile was directed up at him.

Scowling, he didn't reply, but he silently made the decision to tough out the meal and just sit there. At least until Katahana was done.

"Great, now all we need is Shikamaru to wake up," Lee said happily in the seat beside him, "then we can let Temari know so we can gather everyone!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "So you guys haven't gone over everything yet?"

"We were informed that after everyone was ready, then we'd finally meet up and go over our missions and our future objectives." Sai answered.

Sasuke nodded in reply, relieved at the news. He picked at his plate while he listened to Hana talk animatedly about how much she liked the Hidden Sand. Apparently she'd never made a sandcastle before, so she spent a good twenty minutes talking about how Temari sat in the courtyard with her, showing her how.

As she spoke, he couldn't help but believe everyone else's words more and more. She really _was_ just a normal kid after all. Imagining her playing in the sand and watching her talk excitedly, waving her hands around every now and again for emphasis, he couldn't help but let the relief wash over him.

Hana was a resilient little thing; he'd give her at least that much.

He hadn't realized that he'd completely zoned out until Hana was practically standing on her seat, waving her arms enthusiastically.

"Ino-san! Kakashi-san! Over here!"

Sasuke winced as she yelled across the room; he noticed the other ninja in the cafeteria shoot curious or annoyed glances toward the child, although they didn't watch for long.

"Hey Hana," he heard Ino's voice before he saw her. Then he watched as she smiled toward the rest of them, walking around the table to stand behind Hana. Giving the girl a hug from behind, she smiled toward the rest of them, "Hey guys."

"Good to see you up, Sasuke," he heard the man speak as he came to sit on his right side. "You were pretty out of it earlier."

Watching as Kakashi smiled at him, he glared back at his old sensei as he remembered how he let Hana into his room earlier that morning. Yet as he thought about it, he couldn't bring himself to be truly angry at the action; after all, he had been able to spend more time with Hana.

He wouldn't thank the man, but he would try and be cooperative today; his way of showing his gratitude.

"Hi Kaka-san," Hana greeted, bouncing in her seat as she grinned brightly, "Is mom with you?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied apologetically, "although she promised to join us in a little while."

Watching the older man Sasuke wondered what Sakura could possibly be doing. He expected her and Hana to be side-by-side the entire time after they arrived. Truth be told he wasn't expecting to see much of either of them. He'd assumed that they'd simply be busy with their reunion and would spend all their time with one another; he'd never really calculated himself into that thought.

Yet as he watched Hana, taking in her smiling face, he couldn't help but be slightly grateful that he was able to spend time with her.

"When are you guys gonna talk about getting the bad guys?" Hana asked curiously, her eyes drifting from Kakashi, so Ino, and then landing on Sasuke.

The table grew uncomfortably silent at the question. Of course everyone knew that the child was aware of the situation and that she knew it was dangerous and could potentially end horribly—hell, she'd already experienced some of the atrocities of her situation. Just a few weeks ago she'd been living off of the streets, struggling to survive, all the while thinking about the fact that her mother was gone, and possibly even dead.

Thankfully Ino was the one to take care of the situation, "Really soon. First we need to talk about our trip with everyone, and then we'll start thinking about what to do next."

"Can I go wake up Shikamaru-san then?" she asked genuinely. "Because I really wanna know what's gonna happen next."

"He may already be awake," Lee offered the child with a smile. "I am sure that if we are patient, he will show up at any time.

"He already is awake," Kakashi said. "In fact, he's been awake for hours now."

Sasuke thought to himself, remembering how Hana told him that she and Kakashi had been let inside the room by Shikamaru.

"Where is he then?" Hana asked.

"Maybe he's with Temari?" Sai offered, his face scrunched up in concentration. "There is a chance that they could finally be relieving their sexual tension."

At his words, Sasuke choked on his food, placing his fork down and trying to regain his composure. He looked at the pale man with a look of incredulity; had he just said what he _thought_ he said?

Before anyone could speak, Ino had already smacked him upside the head. "_Shut up_," she hissed angrily through gritted teeth. "Remember? Child present?" She looked pointedly down at Hana, who was sitting happily, still swinging her legs.

Kakashi sighed, "And he was doing so well." Sasuke could see the man rubbing his temples, perhaps warding off a headache. "We'd gone almost a month without any of these brazen comments," he spoke in a low voice to Sasuke, as if explaining the odd man's behavior. "So much for progress," the man sighed again, still massaging his temples.

Coughing slightly, trying to clear the remaining food from his windpipe, Sasuke looked at the odd ninja with a strange look. What was with this guy?

"Are you alright, dad?"

He looked across the table to see Hana staring at him with a concerned look on her face. Coughing once more, he nodded, "Fine."

"It's okay Ino-san, I know what he's talking about. I'm not a baby."

Kakashi was the next person to choke on his food.

Ino's eyes widened as she stared down at the child. Shooting a panicked look to Kakashi, she tried forcing a smile on her face before kneeling down beside Hana. "What do you mean by that?"

Hana giggled, holding a hand in front of her mouth, "I know what _kissing_ is, silly." She laughed once more, almost as if scandalized by the thought.

"Yeah," Ino nodded, her forced smile turning to a look of relief, "kissing." Ino stood back up, sighing in relief. "We'll go with that. You on the other hand," she stepped to the side so she was behind Sai and leaned down so she was whispering in his ear. "You better watch out. Sakura won't be happy to hear about this."

Sasuke could've sworn he saw the man shudder at the thought, his face paling even more, if that were even possible. Well, at least he showed a normal reaction to a threat. Shooting a side-glance at Kakashi, the two met eyes before staring back at the doomed man before them. It seemed that nowadays, Naruto wasn't the only one who was on the receiving end of Sakura's wrath.

Before anyone could try and recover the conversation, steering it in a more _appropriate _direction, the sound of a loud bang echoed throughout the large room.

With the noise of the double doors being thrown open with great force, even Sasuke found himself caught off guard by the noise. Just as he turned his head to find out what was going on, he found himself immediately dodging a fist.

Ducking underneath, Sasuke stood up abruptly, knocking the chair he'd been sitting in backwards, and side-stepping so that he was out of his attempted aggressor's line of sight.

His sharingan had been activated before he even got a good look, but as he met eyes with the man, he was already dodging another fist.

"Kiba! _What the hell_?!" he could hear Ino's furious shouts above anything else.

"You piece of shit," Kiba spat angrily, still swinging, trying to land a hit on the Uchiha, "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!"

Sasuke wasn't about to demand an explanation. No, he didn't need any sort of excuse or reason for the sudden attack.

Glaring, Sasuke switched his defensive stance to a more offensive one; he wasn't about to sit by and let this _dog-_man scream at him. Naruto wasn't around to intervene this time.

Yet before Sasuke could make a move, Kakashi was already behind Kiba, working to restrain him. Sasuke wanted to snap at his old teacher, tell him to release the man and to let him fight.

Oh yes, if he wanted a fight, he'd surely get one.

"Kiba! What has gotten into you?!" The older jounin yelled as he struggled with the younger man in his grasp. Thankfully Sai jumped in as well, placing himself in front of Kiba, obstructing his view.

"Let me go Kakashi," Kiba yelled, struggling to get out of his grip, "We can't trust him! He's just going to hurt more people!"

Kakashi stood behind him and had his arms wrapped around his torso tightly, holding Kiba's arms by his side, preventing the furious man from moving any further. Sai stood, ready to help if needed, in between the two fighting.

Hardly noticeable over the chaos in the room, Sasuke's sharingan noticed when the doors at the other end of the room opened once more. He watched as Hanabi and Sakura ran into the room, panicked looks on their faces, and with a whining Akamaru trailing behind them.

"Kiba!" Hanabi screamed, "Stop it!"

As the young woman approached the group, Sasuke's eyes once more found her injured leg, only now instead of it being wrapped tightly in badages, it was unwrapped, exposed for everyone to see.

The sinking feeling returning in the pit of his stomach, Sasuke glanced back toward where Kiba and Kakashi stood.

"_He's just going to hurt more people!"_

He suddenly understood why Kiba suddenly wanted him dead on the ground before them. The little voice in the back of his head started nagging him once again.

_See? You don't belong here. This is no place for a monster._

"Stop," she had moved so surprisingly quick, he hadn't even noticed when she'd broken out of Ino's grip, "please stop." Crying, Hana stood in front of Sasuke, looking over to Kiba with a look of fear. She was confused and scared and she was _crying_.

In his current state of mind, unable to handle any more of the twisted chaos in the cafeteria and in his mind, he reached out and grabbed Hana's shoulder, gently pulling her toward him. Turning toward him Hana let him pull her close to him willingly, wrapping her arms around his midsection and burying her teary face into his shirt.

Sasuke didn't once hesitate as he returned her embrace, wishing that her tears would stop and her fear would subside.

_It won't be long,_ the voice in his head taunted, _before she realizes that you're a monster._

Subconsciously, he held her closer, trying to rid his mind of these wretched thoughts. His head shooting back toward the two women who'd just entered, he watched as Sakura ran straight to them, kneeling before him and beside Hana, who was still crying loudly.

Hanabi on the other hand, stormed directly up to Kiba, getting in his face. Sasuke had noticed that he'd stopped struggling against Kakashi's grip. "Damnit, Kiba! Why the hell did you do that!?"

"He _hurt_ you!" The man yelled back, bewildered and further infuriated. "He hurt you, and you expect me to sit by and be okay with that?!"

"It's fine," she replied, much quieter, through gritted teeth. "_I'm_ fine."

"He could have killed you!"

"Will someone _please_ explain to me what is going on!" Ino yelled, storming up to the group, glaring at Kiba and Hanabi.

"Why don't you ask him?" Kiba snapped, nodding his head toward Sasuke, "He can tell you all about it."

For a moment, everyone's eyes fell on him, making his body tense and his own expression to morph into a glare. He didn't want their suspicious looks. As Hana's grip loosened, he watched as she looked up at him with a look of curiosity, then toward her mother.

Sakura was frozen in her spot as well as she looked back at her daughter. "Mommy," her shaking voice warned them of a fresh round of tears on the verge of erupting, "what's going on? Why is everyone yelling?" Starting to sob once again, the child wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, burying her face into her hair.

Katahana was an anxious wreck, and the sight of it nearly ripped his heart in two. As he looked at everyone standing before them, he couldn't deny the fact that it was all his fault.

It took them a couple seconds before they realized Sasuke wasn't going to say anything; he watched as everyone's eyes slowly fell back on Kiba and Hanabi, who still stood glaring at one another.

"What? You're not going to say anything?" Kiba taunted with a hard laugh. Sasuke watched as the man's eyes fell upon Hana and then looked back up to meet his. "Do you not want her knowing what a horrible person you really are?"

"Kiba," Sakura's voice threatened in a low voice. Slowly, she lifted her hands and covered Hana's ears, "that's enough. You can save this for later."

"Go on Sasuke, go on and tell them how you used that damn sharingan of yours and almost killed Hanabi?"

"What?" Upon realizing that Kiba was no longer going anywhere, Kakashi released his hold and moved beside Hanabi and in between the two men. "Hanabi?" He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"It's nothing—"

"_Amaterasu _is not nothing, Hanabi," Kiba spat angrily, his eyes still on Sasuke.

"Amaterasu?" Kakashi turned toward Sasuke, gazing at him curiously. "Why were you using amaterasu?"

"We were ambushed a couple nights ago," Sakura tried to explain, keeping her hands pressed hard over Hana's ears, trying to prevent her from hearing the conversation. "We were just fighting them and… and…" She paused, biting her lip as she looked down on Hana's head. The child was still crying but was now looking around strangely at everyone, eyes scrunched up as she wondered what everyone was talking about.

"Hanabi," Ino gasped lightly, "your leg."

"It's _alright_," she tried to emphasize her words by jumping from one leg to the other; although she still winced when she placed pressure on her injured leg. "Sakura was healing me earlier. I'll be back to normal in no time."

"That doesn't change a damn thing and you know it."

"I think," Kakashi said, raising his voice to overpower the others, "that this conversation can be continued later." He sent them all a stern look before glancing at Hana, who was currently watching him in confusion as he spoke. "Kiba," he turned toward the younger man and gave him a hard look, "follow me."

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Before anyone could move, the door opened once more, revealing a very pissed-off looking Temari. Following closely behind, wincing at the woman's shouting, Shikamaru trailed behind her.

"Everyone down here is ready," Kakashi spoke, avoiding her question, "what about on your end?"

The woman glanced at the Leaf ninja, studying them with narrowed eyes, "We're ready." She nodded toward Kakashi, "You better explain all this once we get up there," she pointed a stern finger at him before turning around and marching out of the room.

Shrugging towards Kakashi, Shikamari turned and started following her, gesturing for everyone else to follow as well.

Sasuke did not move a muscle until he watched Kiba practically get yanked out of the room by Kakashi and Sai. Letting out a breath of air, he looked down, allowing his expression to soften.

Sakura was smiling at Hana, wiping the tears off of her face with her thumbs. "I'm sorry about that, Hana. Kiba and your father just… don't get along."

The little girl nodded, hiccupping as her crying began to subside. "I just," hiccup, "I got scared."

"I know you did," Sakura placed her hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead, "but you were very brave to stand up and march over here."

Hana nodded again, rubbing an eye with one hand and reaching toward Sasuke with another. Looking at her hand held out to him he almost didn't make a move; but as he watched Sakura studying him closely, he grasped the girl's hand in his own, holding it tightly.

"What are you guys going to be talking about?" she asked as she watched her mother stand up before her. Once Sakura had straightened up, the girl held her arms up in the air, and looked away, embarrassed. "I know I told you I'm too old to be carried," she mumbled, "but I'm… tired."

Without hesitation, Sakura smiled again and picked the child up, propping her against her hip. "I've got you," she kissed the top of her head again, waiting for Hana to make herself comfortable before doing anything else. Placing her head on Sakura's shoulder, she closed her eyes, holding her arms around her mother's neck tightly. "Let's go," Sakura said quietly, glancing at Sasuke and the walking toward the exit.

Unnerved by the events that had just transpired, Sasuke followed at a slight distance. Close enough that if he opened his stride a bit then he'd be within arm's length of Sakura and Hana, but far enough away that he wasn't completely overbearing with his presence.

He couldn't help but feel like a third wheel. They looked so happy together. So content and just so… perfect.

_Not a place for a monster to belong_.

It didn't take them long to catch up to the rest of them. They found Ino and Sai first with Lee not too far ahead of them.

"Where exactly are we going?" Sakura asked Ino quietly as they walked.

"Beats me," she shrugged, "I guess wherever Temari takes us."

After a few more minutes they walked down a long corridor and entered through another pair of double doors. Immediately upon entry Sasuke's eyes found the Inuzuka man, who was already glaring at him. Hanabi, who was sitting beside him, elbowed him roughly in the ribs, causing the man to then direct his anger and frustration at her.

There was a low hum of chatter as they entered the long, spacious room. There were chairs placed randomly throughout the room, yet only a few of the occupants chose to use them. Everyone else was either standing, leaning against a wall, or just flat-out sitting on the ground.

Sasuke's eyes soon found the Sand nin, Kankuro, approaching them where they stood. He watched as the man smiled softly at Sakura and the almost-asleep Hana, yet shot him a quick look of disdain.

"Hey," he whispered as he approached, trying not to disturb Hana, "there's a couch over this way," he motioned for Sakura to follow him. Yet as the man watched Sasuke following the two close behind, instead of staying with the rest of the group, his face dropped its look of contempt; a look of curiousity was soon in it's place.

Again, he stood close yet gave them enough space, merely watching with a detached expression as Sakura lowered Hana on to the couch. The sleepy girl peeked through tired eyes, reaching out for Sakura, who had just released her hold on the girl.

"We'll be right over there," Sakura spoke, turning to show Hana that everyone was only at the far end of the room, "if you need me, you know where to find me."

The child nodded sleepily before curling up and turning over, so that her face was almost pressed into the back cushion of the couch.

He found himself studying her closely, not realizing how long he'd been standing there until something poked at his arm.

"Come on," Sakura whispered, pulling lightly on his sleeve, "she'll be alright."

Sasuke did not want to leave though; he looked back at Hana once more before reluctantly turning and following Sakura's lead. They'd be close by. She'd be alright.

He watched as Sakura went to stand beside Ino, who was talking with Shikamaru. Not knowing where else to stand, he simply stood by Sakura's side, hoping that no one would try to include him in any pointless conversation. As they all gathered in the room, he looked around curiously. It seemed as if everyone was already there. Who were they waiting for?

"Where's Kakashi?" he heard Sakura ask.

"He should be here soon," Ino said, "he wandered off when we were on our way up here."

Before anyone could speculate any further, everyone's attention was turned toward the doorway as two ninja entered.

For a moment, Sasuke felt like an idiot for forgetting about Gaara.

He watched as the two men entered, Kakashi following the Kazekage, and approached the rest of the ninja in the room. A couple of nameless Sand ninja nodded toward Gaara before leaving the room and closing the doors securely after him.

As he met eyes with the man, he was faced with the same passive look as always. In return, he tried to keep his own expression as neutral as possible.

The Kazakage looked just as he'd remembered. Perhaps a little taller. He certainly looked a little bit older, but not by much.

Although Sasuke supposed the same could be said for everyone.

"Hey guys," Kakashi greeted with a small smile as he moved to stand on Sasuke's over side. "Sorry I'm late."

Sasuke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at his former-sensei's excuse. Years had passed and many things had changed, although it still seemed as if _some_ things remained the same.

Gaara wasted no time and instead jumped right into conversation with the room. "I understand that there was a situation downstairs just now."

For a long moment, everyone was silent. The occupants of the room were either looking at Sasuke or looking at Kiba. Neither man made any move to give any form of explanation though.

"I swear someone better start talking," Temari warned, her patience wearing thin.

"Alright," Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head and glancing at the other members of the room. "The night before last there was a… situation."

"More details than that, _please_."

Shikamaru shot Temari a wry look. "During the night, while Lee was on duty, we were ambushed by a group of ninja."

"Looking for Hana?" Ino asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she shared a look with Sakura.

"We're not sure; it's very likely though. Before we could figure anything out," he hesitated, glancing over at Sasuke for a few seconds, "they had been disposed of."

"Don't you think you're forgetting something, Shikamaru?" Kiba snapped.

"I'm _getting_ to that," he retorted, shooting his own annoyed glance back. "Lee?" he looked toward the taijutsu expert, who'd been unusually quiet since entering the room. "Can you go over what happened before we woke up?"

The tall man nodded once, swallowing nervously before addressing the rest of the room. "At first I thought it was Sasuke walking around, but I found out that there were a couple ninja that were trying to sneak around our campsite. As soon as I found them, they spotted me and started to attack." He paused, looking toward Sakura and Sasuke. "They must have caught sight of Sakura or something because they stopped attacking me and ran right toward her."

"So it could've been more people looking for you," Kakashi remarked, turning toward Sakura.

"But they thought she was dead," Hanabi chimed in, "why would they be looking for someone who was dead?"

Sasuke couldn't help but agree. It didn't make sense that they'd still be searching for Sakura. Masaru had all but told Sasuke that he'd killed Sakura himself. If _he_ thought Sakura was dead, surely everyone working under him would know, too.

"Maybe they know I survived," Sakura offered, "or it could even be that they were never told that I'd been 'killed'." She put air-quotes around her words as she theorized.

"It's likely," Kakashi said, thinking to himself for a moment. He then turned back toward Lee and nodded, urging the man to continue.

"After that, I deflected a few kunai," he looked guilty for a moment, "and I guess I missed one because Sakura was hit."

"Grazed," she corrected, "it's alright Lee."

Sasuke allowed his eyes to wander to the side of her head where he'd remembered seeing her bleeding. There was only a faint pink line where the gash used to be; it'd been healed recently.

Looking back toward Lee, Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek. He was anxious as hell. He hadn't heard about—or even bothered to _ask_ about—what he'd done when he'd blacked out that night.

_What do you expect? You're just another worthless monster_.

He let his eyes wander once more, landing on Katahana's sleeping form at the far end of the room. Even if the child was awake, with the distance she was at she wouldn't be able to hear their conversation. It didn't stop him from wishing she wasn't there. Kiba's words echoed in his mind.

"_Do you not want her knowing what a horrible person you really are?"_

"Anyways," Lee continued, a bit uneasily, "Sasuke just kind of jumped in after that. He took care of the guys really quickly. But he kind of," he paused, "took it a little far."

He paused again after that, clearly feeling uneasy at the current conversation. He looked over to Shikamaru as if silently asking for help.

"By this point," he looked from Lee, to Sasuke, and then back toward Gaara, "Sasuke had basically lit the entire field up."

"With _amaterasu_," Kiba jumped in, his frustration ringing clear with his words. "He used amaterasu recklessly like a damn moron and Hanabi almost lost her leg!"

"Kiba." Kakashi sent the angry ninja a glare. "That's enough. We get it."

"It wasn't intentional," Hanabi defended weakly, as if knowing her words were futile. "I mean, I could tell he wasn't aiming for me cause well…" she paused as if regretting opening her mouth. "He wasn't really looking at anything. Or focused on anything I guess."

Her statement ended in a quiet whisper as she looked toward the ground as if embarrassed by defending her assailant. The room was quiet for another moment before another voice spoke up.

"He blacked out," Sakura said quietly, looking toward Kakashi and the Gaara, "he doesn't remember anything."

"Is that so?" Gaara said, almost as if slightly amused by the revelation. Turning his head toward Sasuke slightly he tilted his head, waiting for a reply.

Sasuke met his gaze and held it for a long moment. He didn't want to acknowledge all the people standing in the room, but they were all watching and listening in, whether he wanted it or not.

Nodding once, he kept his eyes locked with the Kazekage. "It's true."

"Has that ever happened before?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke gritted his teeth before hesitantly replying, "No."

"He's unstable," Kiba chimed in once more. He wasn't yelling anymore, but his words were still loud and clear throughout the room. "Working alongside him is too risky. Hanabi may have only been injured this time, but we may not get so lucky next time."

Sasuke wanted to snap at him. He wanted to be angry at his words and retort back with a scathing remark of his own. But he couldn't even bring himself to glare. He knew there was truth to his words.

"I see," Gaara nodded once before turning his attention back to the rest of the group. "Kakashi, Shikamaru," he addressed each man individually, "if each of you will report what happened from the time where you left Konoha to the time you arrived here."

"Wait," Kiba jumped in, "what are you going to do about him?" He pointed a finger at Sasuke, giving the Kazekage a look of bewilderment.

"You need not concern yourself with that," he replied, shooting the impatient man a bored glance. "Now then." He nodded back toward Kakashi first, waiting for the man to speak.

Sasuke hadn't been angry before, but now he was both furious as well as humiliated. They were talking about him as if he were a child that needed to be punished.

He only half-listened to Kakashi summarize the trip that both of their teams made together to their first check point. He didn't start to really pay attention until after he started to talk about what happened _after_ they went their separate ways.

"Things went smoothly for the first couple days. Although before we reached the border to Wind Country, there was a little… set-back."

As his old sensei spoke, he couldn't help but notice the expressions of a few different members of their team. He watched as Sai and Ino shared a worried glance; he couldn't miss the uneasy look Ino gave him and Sakura before she turned her attention back toward Kakashi.

"We met that man. The one with the green mask."

He could almost feel Sakura stiffen beside him. Sasuke thought back to the night where the men broke into his apartment. The masked man had appeared, killed the two men, and disappeared before Sasuke could even say a word. For a moment he couldn't remember why he hadn't gone after him, although as he let his eyes wander back over toward the far end of the room, he suddenly remembered why.

As he tried to rid the memory of Hana's screaming pleas from his mind, he focused back on Kakashi, now paying attention to every word he spoke.

"He didn't say much, but what he did say definitely stirred things up a bit." He paused before giving Sakura an apologetic look. "He didn't address any of us, only Hana."

Sasuke didn't allow his eyes to wander, although he did feel Sakura grip his forearm tightly, digging her nails into the skin.

"He said that he was surprised to see her, and he apologized for the fact that Sakura was dead." The man sighed before looking away from Sakura and back to Gaara. "He then told her that people weren't safe around her, and that if we tried to protect her, we'd end up dying as well. After that, we tried to attack; Kiba and Sai chased him for a little while, but we lost him eventually."

"The weird part is what he told us before we lost sight of him," Kiba chimed in, appearing to have calmed down after his outburst. "He said something that didn't really make sense."

"He apologized," Sai explained, "he told us to explain to Hana that he was sorry."

"Why would he threaten her and then apologize about it?" Shikamaru asked, looking toward Kakashi for an explanation.

"Don't know," he shrugged before sighing tiredly. "But after that it was very difficult to control Hana."

"Difficult how?" Sakura asked, her grip on Sasuke's forearm still tight.

"Sai caught her trying to run off that night," Ino explained, jumping in the conversation. "We woke up to the sound of her screaming and crying as he dragged her back to camp." Ino's expression was pained as she spoke, "She had her bags packed and everything. She tried to run off one more time that night, but I guess after she realized she wasn't getting anywhere she gave up."

"Because of that man, she was thoroughly convinced that you were dead up until we arrived here," Kakashi explained to Sakura. "But they'd heard from you all here and that you'd been found which changed her attitude drastically. After our encounter with the masked man, she hadn't spoken a single word. But after she learned you were alive, she was so excited she wouldn't stop chattering." Kakashi offered Sakura a smile, trying to comfort the stressed woman. He then looked back toward Gaara, "the next morning we ran into a group of ninja and had to take another route." He shrugged, "It set us back a few days but we got here without running into anyone else. That's basically the parts worth reporting."

"I see," Gaara said to himself before nodding toward Shikamaru, "and your team?"

Sasuke then went back to paying attention to the conversation, but only partially. Shikamaru went over every important detail and found himself speaking for much longer than Kakashi had. Although to be fair, a lot had happened to their team while on their mission.

Every now and then, Sasuke had to remind himself that it was a miracle they'd even completed the mission; he had almost deemed it pointless at one point in time, thinking that they were searching for a corpse. He peered at Sakura out of the corner of his eye, and let his gaze drop to her hand she still held tightly around his arm.

It was a miracle that she was even alive.

"Other than the group we ran into the other night, nothing else has happened since we took off for here."

"Good," Gaara nodded as Shikamaru finished his summary. "We'll need to be sure to relay all this information to your Hokage," he said, addressing both of the team leaders. He then turned to address the entire room, "As for the rest of you, you are welcome to stay for as long as you need. I'll be sure to let you all know what the Hokage has to say when I hear from him next. Until then, please make yourself at home."

With the Kazekage's dismissal, a few people turned and left, perhaps seeking out their rooms, yet a few stayed behind.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke watched as an angered Kiba walked up to where Kakashi and Gaara currently stood. He wasn't being loud with his frustration, and it was difficult to hear what was being said, but thankfully Sasuke could read his lips in order to help distinguish his words. "Are you really going to allow that _criminal_ to just walk the grounds as he pleases?"

"I understand your anger," Gaara said calmly, "but as I said before, you need not concern yourself with those matters."

"No. I'm not going to sit by while—hey!"

"Kiba, _shut the fuck up_."

Sasuke was almost surprised to see Hanabi's tiny form grab the back of Kiba's shirt and violently yank him backward. Even Sakura, who had started to walk toward the couch where Hana was napping, had stopped in her tracks and turned to gape at the scene before her.

"This should be good," he heard Ino mutter under her breath to Sakura.

"Are you kidding me? I—"

"No! I'm not 'kidding you'! God, can you just shut up for one second? I told you to drop it and you're not listening to a damn word I'm saying? You're the one that has to be joking here."

"He tried to—"

"You weren't even there! You don't know what he did or did not do!"

As they two argued, Sasuke watched as Gaara walked out of the room without another word, being followed by Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Temari. Sasuke didn't blame them; he didn't really want to stick around to hear anymore of Kiba's voice either…

"That doesn't matter, you got hurt."

"I can take care of myself!" She seemed to have surprised the man by getting in his face, standing all the way up on her tippy toes so that she could be almost eye-level with the taller man. "All the time, ever since I was first put on a mission with you, you've treated me like a pathetic little shit. And you _never_ fucking listen to me. This is it. I'm done!"

And with that, the small Hyuuga girl turned around and marched out of the room in a huff, almost knocking Sai to the ground as she stormed out into the hallway.

Sasuke watched as Kiba's anger seemed to intensify with her abrupt exit. As he stood there, Akamaru nudged his hand, whining loudly. And quickly after, he made his own loud exit, marching his way toward the door.

"Don't think this is over, Uchiha," he spat angrily as he passed Sasuke. "I've got my eye on you."

Sasuke did not reply, instead he merely stared back until the man left the room completely, taking his oversized dog with him as well.

Ino let out a long whistle before walking over to Kankuro and patted him on the back. "Good luck with this whole mess, Mr. Head of Security." She grinned at him before walking back over to Sakura.

The sand ninja merely frowned, looking from Sasuke and back toward the door that Kiba had just stormed out of. Letting out a long, defeated sigh, he rubbed his neck and made his way out of the room as well, mumbling under his breath. "It's going to be a long week."

Sasuke couldn't help but agree.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait between chapters, but I'm home from vacation now so I'll try to go back to posting weekly. Hope you liked this one.

Fun fact: I wrote this before the Naruto chapter where Sasuke arrived at the battlefield was published, so when I read it and saw Kiba yelling like an angry ass at Sasuke, it made me laugh; I guess I'm not as bad at keeping Kiba in-character as I thought I was! What a relief.

And I don't know about you guys, but-from a feminist perspective-I'm really happy with the way I've written Hanabi so far. Basically the way I'm writing her is the same way I wish Kishimoto would write all of his female characters. Instead of the women always playing the "damsel in distress" role, I wish that instead they'd throw some more punches and scream a bit and tell other people to basically fuck off and stop treating them as if they're weak. (Just a thought!)

I'll leave you all tonight with this little gem; a snippet of a conversation between my boyfriend and a friend of ours:

"_Gaara probably got in trouble at recess for hogging the sand box."_

_"I'm pretty sure he got in trouble for murdering his classmates."_

Reviews are, as always, appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	25. Chapter 25

Hours later, Sasuke found himself sitting in his assigned room, lying on his bed, and staring up at the ceiling.

After the meeting, he'd followed Sakura for a little while, even escorting her and the still-sleeping Hana back to their own room. Sakura had originally bent down to pick up the child, but Sasuke stopped her, informing her that she should save her strength and that he could do it.

He'd watched as Sakura bit back the remark that was on the tip of her tongue and paused, nodding toward him, her expression softening and a smile forming.

Honestly, Sasuke knew that she was more than capable of carrying the child back to their place herself, but he couldn't stop himself from being selfish. He didn't know why, he just needed to hold her; he needed to know that she was there and she was alright. He couldn't explain it.

Now, he was simply lying there. Shikamaru had knocked on his door a short while ago, inviting him to go to the cafeteria and get some dinner. Sasuke had declined with a shake of his head and then promptly resumed staring blankly at the pale yellowed ceiling.

He couldn't stop thinking about that night in the forest. He'd never blacked out in a battle before. _Never_.

It was just the sight of Sakura getting injured, right in front of his eyes no less with blood pouring down the side of her face, that set him off. He couldn't shake that picture from his thoughts, and as he tried to remember anything beyond that, the only thing he could distinguish were the screams of his teammates telling him to stop.

For all he knew he'd only been out of it for a few seconds. Although it had been enough time for him to nearly destroy half an acre of the forest.

Turning his head to the side, he let out a long breath of air. There was no window in the room. There weren't any windows in the entire compartment either. He remembered Shikamaru mentioning that they were below ground and in the center of the building. Hadn't he said something about it being a security precaution? Sasuke couldn't remember, although he did silently wish that he could look at something other than the plain room he sat in.

A knock at the front door almost made him sit himself up and exit his room to answer it, although he decided at that moment that he didn't feel like conversing with any of his comrades. Turning onto his side, he placed his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the sound.

The knocking continued for a few more seconds before a voice yelled out to him.

"I know you're in there! Answer the door!"

He found himself on his feet and in front of the door in seconds. Opening it slowly, he peered around it to see Hana standing there, bouncing eagerly on her feet sporting a large grin. Behind the child stood Sakura, smiling sheepishly at him, "We didn't wake you, did we?"

"No," he said, his voice cracking as if he truly _had_ woken from a nap. Clearing his throat he shook his head once more before looking back down at the excited girl in front of him.

"Do you wanna go get dinner with us?" she asked, still bouncing in her spot before him.

He watched her strangely as she moved, wondering why the hell she couldn't stand still. But as he watched her he thought back to his days in the academy, and back to a certain blonde-haired idiot he knew. He supposed it was a thing that kids did; although Sasuke could only quietly hope Hana hadn't picked up too many mannerisms from Naruto.

"Mom said Kiba-san isn't in the building right now, so it'll be okay!" She said, as if she needed to coax him out of his room.

Sasuke wanted to scoff at the statement; as if that _dog-man_ could keep him from going anywhere.

Instead he nodded to her, staying silent even when Hana let out an excited squeal and held onto his hand tightly, pulling him out of his doorway and down the hallway. Sasuke shot Sakura a confused glance but she merely shrugged, smiling the whole time.

He found himself getting dragged down to the cafeteria and was soon listening to the incessant chatter of the 7-year old girl.

As they ate she talked about her favorite foods and her least favorites. She went on about how much she missed her old bedroom for a good five minutes and then spent another ten describing the room to him in vivid detail.

"You'll see it when we get back to Konoha, and I can show you our whole house too!"

Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura for a moment before quickly breaking the eye contact, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Having the child talk so nonchalantly to him about coming back to the village made him feel uneasy.

Thankfully, the subject switched to how much she missed playing with Naruto and Hinata's son, Kenji. She soon started telling him a few stories about the 'adventures' that she and the toddler have had. Sasuke didn't know why he found himself actually paying attention to the child, but he figured that it was better than staring at a wall for hours on end.

After the meal he expected to go back to his room, but was instead dragged once more by Hana in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see!" She sang, skipping along as she led the way. Sasuke looked behind him and at Sakura for an explanation, yet she didn't reply. Again she only smiled.

When they made their way out into the courtyard, Sasuke only _wished_ that he'd chosen to go back to his room.

Soon enough, Hana had managed to sit him down beside her in the sand and was currently showing him how to make sand castles.

"No no!" Hana yelled, grabbing his hands and pushing them back into his lap. "If you do it like _that_ the whole thing is gonna fall!"

Sasuke tried to glare at the child but all he managed was a semi-stern look. Frowning, he wiped his hands on his shirt, watching as the sand fell all over his lap.

"You've got to pat it down," she instructed, "like this!"

Sasuke sighed and leaned back on his hands, placing them once more in the sand below them. He didn't care at all about how to make a damn sandcastle. But he couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with Hana.

After all, he didn't know how much more time he'd get to spend with her. There were still people he needed to track down…

"Well isn't this a sight?"

Sasuke bit back an expletive at the sound of Kakashi entering the courtyard. He couldn't see the man yet, but he could just hear the teasing tone in his voice.

Hana turned and smiled toward Kakashi, waving a sandy hand toward him. "Hi Kaka-san!"

"Hello," he greeted, waving back toward her. "What are you two up to?"

"Sand castles," she explained simply with a point of her finger down to the mushy pile of wet sand in front of her.

"Ah, I see that." Sasuke watched as Kakashi walked over toward where Sakura sat.

Sakura had been sitting on a nearby bench, watching them interact for a good while without saying a word. He watched as she smiled up toward Kakashi and patted the space beside her for him to sit.

"Yeah but my dad isn't very good at them," she said matter-of-factly before turning back toward her 'castle' and adding another few handfuls of sand.

"Tsh." Sasuke rolled his eyes before standing himself up. As he straightened up, sand fell from his body, some of which landed on Hana below him.

"Hey! Watch it, I'm sitting here!" She lifted her arms and placed them above her head as if to guard her from the incoming sand.

Sasuke didn't reply. He only brushed as much of the sand off of his body as he could. After about a minute, he gave up; he'd have to wash his clothes and shower when he finally got back to his room.

Being careful so that he didn't knock over any of Hana's 'castles'—which truthfully all just looked like oddly shaped piles of sand—he walked around her and over toward where Kakashi and Sakura sat.

"Having fun?" Kakashi asked as he approached the bench.

Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Move over," he muttered before sitting down beside the older man.

"How are you guys liking the Hidden Sand?" Kakashi asked.

"It's nice," Sakura smiled, leaning back as she watched Hana play. "It's quieter than the Leaf, but I'm just happy to be sleeping in a real bed again."

"Better than sleeping in the woods," Sasuke mumbled under his breath. Crossing his arms over his chest he found himself looking past Kakashi, studying Sakura's face.

She looked so content. So happy.

"Ugh! It's no fun making sand castles by yourself, you know!" Hana said pointedly, looking toward the group of adults sitting there, watching her.

Sakura let out a light laugh before standing up. "I'll help you out."

Hana's face lit up as she watched her mother approach. "Okay! But you need to let me show you how. Were you watching when I was teaching Dad?"

As he watched the two interact, Sasuke couldn't help but become immersed with the sight. They were both smiling and sitting in the sand and goofing off and giggling and he could've sworn he'd never seen anything more genuinely wonderful in his entire life.

"You did it."

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the two playing in the sand to look inquisitively at Kakashi.

"You brought her back."

"Of course I did. I said I would."

Kakashi smiled, "But you knew as well as I did that the odds of that happening were slim."

Sasuke sighed, looking away from the man. "Less than slim," he agreed, muttering the words quietly as he watched Sakura once more.

"Does she know?"

Sasuke frowned, not removing his eyes from the sight before him. "Know what?" he asked suspiciously.

"How you feel about her?"

If Kakashi had wanted his attention before, he now had it completely. After the question had left his mouth Sasuke's head snapped towards him, looking at the man with a startled look.

"I'm not an idiot, Sasuke," he watched as Kakashi looked back toward Sakura and Hana, watching them playing around in the sand. "I see the way you look at her."

Sasuke berated himself mentally as he tried to shrug off Kakashi's comments; there was no way he'd been _that_ obvious. But the more he thought about it, he realized he couldn't just brush it aside.

"So?" He replied stubbornly, again looking away from Kakashi. He started idly picking at the side of the bench.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Sasuke had to resist the urge to laugh in his face. He'd been asking himself the same question even since he'd found Sakura days ago.

He could choose to stay with her and Hana after this whole mess was dealt with; he couldn't even deny that it was the most appealing of all his options. He'd be able to watch Hana grow up and he could try to repair his relationship with Sakura and he'd hopefully even be able to work toward becoming a Leaf ninja once more.

It would be so easy for him to choose that option, but at the same time it would be so hard, too.

He didn't even think he was close to deserving any of the love Hana and Sakura (supposedly) had to offer him. As he watched them play with the sand, his chest ached. They were so beautiful, so pure and angelic and _god_ they were perfect.

For some reason, he just couldn't picture himself with them, as a family. Attempting to imagine it was just like drawing a tornado in the center of a perfect spring day: it just didn't belong.

Sasuke didn't belong with them. He could feel it with every ounce of his being. Of course he _wanted_ to be with them, more than anything in the world in fact. But he knew, just like always, all he'd bring to them would be pain.

"I don't know." He admitted, his eyes still focusing on the bits of wood he was picking off of the bench.

Thankfully, he watched in his peripheral vision as Kakashi nodded in understanding. He'd actually expected to get scolded or lectured, regardless of what his response would've been; it was something Kakashi had always done in the past.

He had to remind himself once more that he wasn't a child any longer. Of _course_ Kakashi wouldn't treat him like one.

"Do you have any idea what you'll do after all of this?" Kakashi asked after a few minutes. "After Masaru is defeated."

Sasuke sighed again before halting his hands and leaving the bench alone. "Not really."

"Hm," Kakashi appeared to be thinking to himself, perhaps of what to say next. He paused though, not speaking for another long couple of minutes. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Just as Kakashi was finishing speaking, Sasuke watched as Sakura stood back up and walked over toward them with Hana following close behind.

"I'm done with sandcastles today." She stated to the group, with her hands on her hips. "I need a shower," she complained as she brushed at her clothing, struggling to rid herself of all the sand.

"After that we'll be going to one of the recreation rooms down in the lower levels," Sakura explained. "Do you guys want to join us?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Can't. I only stopped by here to say 'hello'. I've got reports to write and letters to send back to Naruto."

"Tell Naruto-san I said hi! Please!" Hana begged excitedly. "And tell Hinata-san that I miss her and Kenji! Oh and Osamu, too!"

"Actually," Sasuke said, suddenly remembering something, "we saw him on the way to finding your mother."

"What! You did?! Why didn't you say so!?" Hana ran up to him, grabbing and pulling on his hands excitedly. "What did he say? I know he was on a mission with Tenten-san last time we were in the village! But no one told me if they were going to tell him if I was okay or not and—"

"Hana," Sakura put a hand on the bouncing girl's shoulder, urging her to calm down.

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly at her mother before turning back toward Sasuke, smiling widely up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"He knows you're safe."

"Did he say anything when you saw him?" She asked hopefully.

Sasuke wanted to groan at her over-excited curiousity. But when he thought back to the child—the son of Asuma and Kurenai, and the grandchild of the third Hokage—he sighed tiredly. He supposed she could do worse…

"Not really. He just asked if we found you," Sasuke shrugged, "that was about it."

"Oh," she said, the disappointment clear in her face and her tone.

Sasuke shot Sakura a wry look, to which she only smiled back at before looking back down toward Hana. "It's alright. You'll see him once we get back to the village."

The little girl groaned, "I just wanna go back now."

"Come on," Sakura said, placing her hand on Hana's back and ushering her back towards the building. Before they got too far, she turned back toward Sasuke. "You coming?"

It would be so easy for him to say no and to retreat back to his room, but as he looked at the girls, he realized that he didn't want to. Not in the least bit. Glancing at Kakashi, the older man smiled, nodding toward the two waiting for him. Breaking eye contact Sasuke walked over to Sakura, following her lead.

As they walked he was silently thankful for the fact that they had Hana with them. The entire building was like one huge maze, and thankfully for some strange reason, Hana seemed to have memorized each and every hallway and stairwell in the damn place.

"So," Sakura said after a couple minutes of silence, "When we get back I suppose I'll have to thank Tenten for harassing those guys for the information." She grinned toward Sasuke, who only shook his head in response to her humor. "Lee got to spend some time with her right?"

Sasuke nodded, then let his curiosity get the better of him. "Why?"

Sakura looked at Hana, who was too busy counting the tiles in the floor as they walked to be paying attention to their conversation. "I was just wondering. After the war, things sort of fell apart for the two of them."

"How so?"

"Well, Neji died. Guy-sensei was killed. The war took half of their team from them," she explained in a hushed tone. "It really did a number on Tenten."

Sasuke was shocked. He'd known about the death of the Hyuuga, but he'd been entirely unaware of the demise of his old master's rival. Thinking back to the overly-energetic man, he almost felt guilty over the fact that he was ignorant about his death.

"I see."

"Every now and then, she gets a little over-worked and has to take a couple months off. But if she hangs around Lee she's usually fine," Sakura explained further. "It's kind of sad. They pretty much just have each other. Neither of them have any other family."

Sasuke found himself thinking hard once more. He'd never realized that maybe he hadn't been the only one without a family as a child. But he had been so self-centered and deranged that even if he had known he was sure he probably wouldn't have cared or shown any sort of empathy.

"I didn't know they were an… item," he said, searching for the correct terminology.

Sakura let out a laugh, "No, they aren't. They're kind of like brother and sister I guess. Sort of like Naruto and I."

As he nodded in genuine understanding he let his eyes wander ahead of him, only to see Hana running down the hall. "Where is she going?" He asked flatly.

"Huh?" Turning her head back in front of her, she let out an expletive under her breath. "Hana, hold up! What are you doing?"

"Before we go back I want to tell Temari-san about the sandcastles I made today!"

Quickening his pace, Sasuke half-heartedly attempted to keep up with Sakura, who was running toward the 7-year-old. Hana, oblivious to anything going on around her, reached out ahead of her and grabbed a doorknob, swinging the door wide open before Sakura could tell her not to.

Before he was there, he heard a couple startled shouts from inside the apartment. Upon recognizing the voices, he froze.

"Shikamaru, you were supposed to lock the door!"

"Damnit! What the—"

"What are you two doing?" Hana asked innocently from the doorway, staring into the apartment with a confused yet slightly frightened look on her face. "Shikamaru-san what are you doing to—"

"Hana!" Sakura reached forward quickly, slapping a hand over the young girl's eyes the moment she reached her. Sasuke then watched as her own eyes trailed into the room, yet quickly averted themselves from she saw what was inside.

Sasuke could only imagine what Hana had just walked in on…

"Oh goodness, I'm so _so_ sorry!" Sakura stuttered out a response, turning her head toward Sasuke and shooting him a panicked look. Her face was red with embarrassment, and as she locked eyes with him, he could still hear the commotion coming from inside the apartment.

"Close the door!" he heard Shikamaru shout from somewhere in the apartment.

"Oh! Got it! Okay!" Pulling Hana back with her, her hand still covering her eyes, Sakura shut the door quickly, slamming it closed before turning back toward Sasuke, her face still shocked.

"Please tell me they weren't…?" he asked, cringing at the thought. He looked down at Hana, who was now trying to pry her mother's fingers from her eyes, and swore to himself.

"Yep."

"She saw everything didn't she?"

"Yep."

Sighing heavily, he looked from Sakura, toward the now-closed door, and back towards Hana.

"What! What were they doing!? Ugh, mom! Let me go!"

"Nothing! It was uh—nothing at all."

"I'm not an idiot! Don't treat me like a baby."

Finally freeing herself from Sakura's hold, Hana placed her hands on her hips, glaring up at her parents.

"You don't need to worry about it, sweetie." Sakura said. Sasuke could only wish that Hana would simply _drop_ the subject. He didn't even want to think about what she'd seen, let alone try to explain it to her. When Sakura shot him a desperate look, he shook his head in response.

Oh no. He'd only known about being a father for about a month now. There was _no way_ he was going to talk about that. Not on his life.

"Just tell me what they were doing!"

"It's uh—they were uh…"

"Forbidden jutsu."

He hadn't meant to say anything, but the idea popped into his head and he couldn't stop himself from blurting out the words. After he spoke he paused, waiting for the child's reaction.

"A forbidden jutsu?" Hana thought to herself for a long moment. "If it's forbidden then why were they doing it!"

"It's a… very dangerous… very secret jutsu. That's why we can't explain it to you. You shouldn't have seen it." When Hana gasped in fear, he figured that maybe his ridiculous excuse would work.

"That's why you aren't allowed to talk about what you just saw," Sakura added on, continuing with their desperate attempt to explain the situation and to change the subject. "If you do, it could put them in danger."

"Why were they performing a forbidden jutsu then?" Hana asked with a whisper.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. She was actually falling for it.

"It's something that we aren't allowed to tell you about at least until… you're a teenager." Sakura said, thinking to herself as she worked out her end of the 'explanation'. "But you need to understand that you weren't supposed to see that, okay?"

"Got it," Hana confirmed with a nod of her head, still whispering up toward her parents. "I won't say a word!"

Sasuke and Sakura let out a collective sigh, meeting eyes with one another.

"I'm going to uh, go shower now." He said, trying to excuse himself from the awkward situation.

Sakura nodded, "Right."

"I'm gonna take a bath too!" Hana said, "We'll get you after I'm done and then go to the rec room to play, okay!?"

Sasuke was relieved at the fact that she'd forgotten about their little situation; for the time being at least. He followed them up to their floor but parted ways once he reached his room.

After entering his room, he looked around the place with tired eyes before running a hand over his face.

He didn't think he'd ever get used to this whole 'being a father' thing. As he thought toward Sakura, he could only hope that she knew what to do with future situations similar to that. Just dealing with that one… circumstance, was enough to make him wish that he'd been elsewhere.

But as he sighed he realized that he'd need to get used to all of it—the good, the bad, even the cripplingly awkward—if he was ever going to attempt to raise her.

As the thought crossed through his mind, he froze. He hadn't exactly decided if he _would_ remain with them after everything was taken care of.

But he supposed he could always prepare himself, just in case…

* * *

**A/N**: This is one of my favorite 'filler' chapters that I have, for obvious reasons. The next chapter will be a bit longer. Probably. Maybe. Eh, fuck it we'll see.

Anyways, I'm still accepting fanfic recommendations, so please don't be shy! Reviews are, as always, appreciated.


	26. Chapter 26

He had to hand it to Sakura. She'd been dealing with this girl for seven years now. He could barely keep up with her for six hours.

He'd run across entire countries, struck down multiple opponents at once, taken a part in fighting and winning a war, and _still_ had more energy left than he had now.

They'd gone to the recreation room in one of the lower levels of the building first and had spent a couple of hours down there. The room hadn't been what he'd been expecting. Bookshelves lined the walls but instead of being filled to the brim with textbooks or novels, the shelves held a vast variety of different games and children's books.

After noting his curious expression, Sakura had explained to him that this was the room where newly orphaned children spent most of their time before they were placed in a group home or with a foster family. It was an idea, she said, that had actually been originally started by Naruto back in Konoha.

There had always been a system that dealt with unwanted or orphaned children back in the Hidden Leaf, but it was always a very cold, unwelcoming one. Sasuke remembered how, after the death of his family, he'd gone from the hospital directly into a tiny apartment complex where most of the village's unwanted children were housed. He found it strangely relieving to know that not only had something been done about it, but Naruto himself had been the one to get it started. And now, it had even spread to other villages.

Most of that time in the brightly colored room was spent with Hana teaching Sasuke how to play a few different card games. Of course, being seven, she wasn't the best at explaining how to do it, but after Sasuke caught the main idea of the games, he soon found himself winning each and every round they played.

_Much_ to the chagrin of Hana.

He supposed she got sick of losing at one point, cause after one game where he'd won after only a couple of minutes, she decided that she was done with the rec room and wanted to do something else now.

"I got an idea! Let's go train or something!"

As the child mentioned it, Sasuke couldn't help but notice the reluctant look that flashed across Sakura's face, but after meeting his eyes she smiled, nodding down to the eager girl.

It didn't take them long to find Kankuro, who had been conveniently walking through one of the halls as they looked for a Suna official to help them out.

He'd been uneasy at the prospect of letting them leave the building to go to the training grounds, which weren't far away. In fact, he had them follow him as he personally walked to Gaara's office to gain permission.

As they stood in the doorway—well, he and Sakura stood, but Hana skipped right in to greet the Kazekage with a bright grin—it didn't take long for the red-haired man to smile toward the child and nod at Kankuro, before returning his attention back toward whatever paperwork he was occupying himself with.

That's where they'd spent the rest of their day: at the closest training ground to the offices. The large building could be clearly seen from the small field they were in. Thankfully, it wasn't just a large pit of sand, but actual grass covered the area; it was dry and itchy sand that crunched under their feet as they walked, but it was better than nothing.

Sasuke had been pleased at the idea of training, but it wasn't until he was on the field with her, when he realized he didn't exactly know what to do with her. He'd never trained anyone before. And other than that one time back in the forest, where he tried to teach her the fireball jutsu, he'd never had to deal with training alongside a _child_.

Thankfully, Sakura had been there to get them started.

She'd offered the idea of target practice, smiling down at Hana and encouraging her by handing her a couple of kunai. Sasuke could see her forced smile and her tense stance, but he knew that she knew that Hana needed to learn how to protect herself.

They threw kunai and shuriken for a long time, Sasuke trying to think of new exercises to practice with the child as they worked. Thankfully, Hana had found herself content just to throw the kunai at any target she could find in the clearing; mostly trees and a couple of fence posts too.

At one point, he'd even asked Sakura if she wanted to take over for a little while; he figured that maybe it would calm her nerves if she trained with Hana instead. But Sakura smiled as she shook her head, kindly denying the offer.

Mainly Hana just goofed off for a good amount of the time they spent there, doing as children often did. But at one point, without warning she surprised him by pulling off a fairly impressive great fireball, one that could easily engulf an entire person with no problem.

After she'd completed it, she'd looked up at him expectedly, as if waiting for him to say something to her or so acknowledge her progress. At that moment he couldn't rid the memory of himself doing the same exact thing all those years ago. Giving her a smile he'd reached down and patted her on the head, telling her that she'd done well.

And as he spoke the words, her face lit up with excitement and she hugged him tightly before turning and running toward where Sakura sat. As Sasuke allowed his eyes to follow, he frowned as he noticed Sakura wiping at her face as Hana approached. Had she been crying?

Slowly walking back over toward them, he waited for Hana to busy herself with something else before turning toward Sakura, concerned. But when he asked her if she was alright, she simply nodded, smiling at him.

Sasuke didn't believe her, but he didn't push the subject.

Oddly enough, after the child declared she was hungry and that she wanted to go back, Sasuke realized just how exhausted he was. It wasn't that they'd been moving around a lot or were being especially active; _please_, Sasuke could run for days with no problem. It was simply the fact that Hana was so _talkative_, he didn't know how to handle it. He knew that it was definitely not a trait that she got from him.

Holding a conversation for a few minutes was impressive for him, and the fact that this child could talk for literally _hours_, was something that completely astounded him.

Currently, they were all back in Sakura and Hana's temporary living quarters, sitting in the main area. Sakura sat at the end of the only couch in the room, while Hana situated herself comfortably and laid her head in her mother's lap as she sprawled herself across the rest of the couch.

Sasuke had made himself comfortable in a rickety chair that had been folded up against the wall. Or, at least, he _tried_ to make himself comfortable. Instead of simply sitting down normally he ended up turning it around, one leg on each side of it as he folded his arms over the back of the chair, resting his chin on the top of it.

"I think she's asleep," Sakura commented with a smile as she looked down at the tired girl. She was idly running her hands through her dark, damp hair. After they'd returned, Hana had taken a bath and then curled up beside her mother on the couch.

"Is she always so… noisy?"

Sakura shot him an annoyed glance. "All kids are loud, Sasuke."

"She talks so much though."

Sakura's expression softened a bit as she let out a light laugh. "She's my little social butterfly."

Sasuke watched, entranced as Sakura smiled softly toward her daughter—_their_ daughter, he corrected mentally. He was still getting used to the fact that he and Sakura were both parents to this incredible little girl. Or better yet, he couldn't get used to the fact that he was actually a father.

"You were crying earlier today," he commented, suddenly remembering her odd display of emotion at the training grounds that day.

"It's just," Sakura bit her lip, and Sasuke could already see her eyes starting to water again, "it's really nothing." She assured with a nervous smile and a shake of her head.

"I still want to know."

Sakura sighed at his persistence. Even Sasuke was a little shocked at himself; he wasn't a big talker and he was never one to pry.

"It's just that for years now, I've had this stupid childish image in my head." Pausing, she shook her head, as if embarrassed by the words she was preparing herself to say. "I've had this picture in my head of you and of Hana spending time together, like a normal father and daughter." She let out a forced laugh, "Of course I never really expected it to ever happen, so I've always tried not to think about it too much. But today, when she did that fireball—" Sakura wiped at a couple of tears just as they started their descent down her face, "Sorry. But I saw that and I just can't stop thinking that this stupid little dream of mine might actually be coming true."

"Dream…" he mimicked under his breath, thinking hard about her words.

"I know that you're not sure whether or not you want to stay with us, and that's okay right now." As she spoke Sasuke shot her a bewildered expression. The last thing he was expecting her to say was how his indecisiveness was totally fine. Noticing his expression, she held a hand up. "Hold on, I'm not finished.

"I'm just saying that I understand. I mean, you've known about her for what? Almost a month now? A month is a short amount of time to make such an extreme decision. I won't lie, every day since you found me I've been hoping that you'll come back after all is said and done, but I also know that, well… with your past with the village and all, you might not." She finished her words in a whisper, genuinely surprising Sasuke with how composed she kept herself. The Sakura that he knew used to always cry when she talked about emotional things like this.

"I just—" she sighed, as if frustrated with herself, "I'm not trying to make it seem like you _have_ to come back and I don't want to pressure you to do anything you don't want to, but—"

"She's my daughter," he interrupted, "of course I want to be with her."

Sakura looked genuinely taken aback by his admission. "Y-you do? Does that mean you'll… come back?"

Sasuke let out a long breath of air as he laid his forehead against the back of the chair. "I don't know," he admitted, as if frustrated with himself. "I want to be… a part of her life, but," he sighed, "I just don't know."

They were both quiet for a long time, each of them finding something else to focus on. For Sakura, she simply kept running her fingers through Hana's long hair. For Sasuke, he simply stared at the odd patterns on the couch, tracing them lazily with his eyes.

"If it helps with your decision-making or whatever," Sakura said after about ten minutes of silence, "you can keep me out of the equation completely." Sasuke shot her a confused look that basically said, '_I don't understand'_. She stayed silent for another couple of minutes, perhaps thinking hard about what she was about to say. "I know our relationship is… complicated, to put it lightly. But you don't need to factor me into any of this. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't let me affect your decision, please. If you want to come back to Konoha for Hana and Hana only, please just do that."

Sasuke went back to thinking to himself in silence after she spoke. Was she trying to get him to forget about her? Did she think that _she_ was one of the main things holding him back? He almost wanted to scoff at the thought; things were quite the opposite really. If anything, she was one of the main reasons that would actually cause him to return for good.

Did she really, after all these years, still not know how he felt about her?

But as he thought about it some more, he realized that he'd never vocalized his feelings for her all those years ago back during the war. He'd come close to doing it once, the night before they departed and went their separate ways, but then he decided against it.

He could admit it all to her now. Tell her how he felt about her; that he'd felt that way all these years. It would be so easy. It wouldn't even take a minute. But of course… something was holding him back.

Well, a few different things were holding him back.

He didn't know if she still loved him. He didn't want to complicate things further. Hell, he wasn't sure if she'd even believe him if he told her.

Looking at her calm, peaceful face, he knew he had to say at least _something _to her. Attempting to swallow the lump in his throat, he shifted slightly in his chair. "When I make my decision, you'll be the first to know."

Sakura nodded at him, seemingly pleased at his words. "Thank you," she said after a moment of comfortable silence. "It really means a lot."

And again the silence resumed. Usually Sasuke found himself quite comfortable with silences, but whenever he was around Sakura, and especially since there were so many things that had been left unsaid currently, he found himself feeling awkward and uneasy at the lack of conversation in the room. Suddenly, a passing thought crossed through his mind and he found himself looking to Sakura for the answer to his question.

"Shikamaru and Temari?"

Sakura paused a moment, taking in his vague question, before suddenly realizing what he was truly asking and busting out into soft, hardly-contained laughter. Struggling to keep her giggling quiet so she didn't disturb Hana, she nodded her head toward him. "This has been going on for years now."

"Since when?"

"Oh gosh, I don't know. I think it was either during the war or right after it. They've been on and off for a long time basically—"

Upon hearing the front door open, Sasuke allowed his eyes to wander only to find Ino making her way in.

"Hey guys!" she greeted happily, but upon seeing Hana sleeping, she placed a hand over her mouth. "Oops," she said, much quieter this time. "What're you guys up to?"

Sharing a look, Sasuke shook his head as Sakura couldn't contain her giggles. She then proceeded to tell Ino about their afternoon, and about Hana's intrusion on Shikamaru and Temari's 'private time'.

"_Shut up_," Ino grinned, listening in on the latest piece of gossip Sakura had to offer her. "She just walked in?! You'd think that they'd lock the door, or at least go into the _bedroom_!"

"I know," Sakura let out another laugh, "I still can't believe it."

"So they're back on again? Oh man, I'm _so_ going to get Shikamaru to spill the beans next time I see him." Ino said, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. Shaking her head and laughing, she walked into the tiny kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "So have you been filling him in on all the stuff that's been going on? Y'know, all the gossip and such?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, looking from Ino to Sakura, "There's _more_?"

"Isn't there always?" Ino said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and closing it with her hip. "You can always talk about Kiba and Hanabi; _that's_ always a fun topic."

Sasuke finally understood why Kiba's fury was directed at him so fiercely. It made perfect sense, really.

"They aren't together, Ino."

"Not _yet_!" She grinned slyly, grabbing another chair and sitting herself by Sasuke. "He's in love with that girl."

"No he isn't," Sakura said, although Sasuke could tell by her tone that she wasn't too sure herself.

"Oh yeah, totally. Why do you think he's been so pissy?"

"Well she is Hinata's little sister."

"Doesn't matter. He's head over heels. Too bad she wants his head on a silver platter basically. Oh well," Ino shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "Trust me, I know Kiba."

Sakura scoffed, "Yeah yeah, you really _know_ him alright." At the suggestive look she shot Ino, Sasuke had a feeling he really didn't want to know what they were insinuating.

"_Please_. That was years ago."

"No, it _started_ years ago. It only ended, what? A year and a half ago?"

"Totally over it. I like to think of it now like it was a fun way to pass time." She shrugged, "You can't deny we were a hot couple."

Sasuke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "So modest…" he mumbled under his breath, resting his head back down on the back of the chair.

Apparently he didn't speak quietly enough, next thing he knew Ino had flung her now-empty water bottle toward him, hitting him square on the head. Sure, he could've blocked it, but he didn't actually think she'd really _do_ it.

As she stood up to leave the room, Sasuke gave Sakura a look of bewilderment. He couldn't believe it. She'd actually thrown the damn thing at him!

Before he could say anything, Ino, who had walked into her temporary room, leaned out of the doorway, hanging on the frame, and smiled at them innocently.

"If you're looking for another topic to talk about, why don't you mention your little escapades with Lee?"

And with another impish grin and a wink, she'd closed the door behind her, knowing full well what she'd just done.

Sasuke replayed Ino's words in his head once, twice, and then a third time, just to be sure he wasn't simply hearing things. Finally, he looked toward Sakura with a raised eyebrow, "Lee?"

He'd known of the green-clad's ninja's infactuation with Sakura ever since they were children. The first time their team had even met his, Lee had already become enamored with her, trying desperately to win over her affections. It had been annoying back then, and thinking about it again after all these years, he still found it just as bothersome.

But Sakura had always shut him down in the past. Hell, he'd witnessed it with his own eyes. What would've caused her to change her mind?

Sakura groaned in annoyance before meeting Sasuke's eyes and letting out a nervous chuckle. "I hate when she brings that up," she muttered through partially gritted teeth. Sighing, she shook her head. "A few years back I let Lee take me on a few dates." She shrugged. "He was always so persistent—but in a nice way, of course—and he was good with Hana so I figured hey, why not?"

For some reason, the image of a man who was not _him_ playing around and spending time with his daughter made him feel strangely angry.

"It was only a few dates around town though," she defended, "and after I realized I wasn't going to feel anything for him I just had to tell him no again after that. I still feel kind of bad, but I think he's over it now."

Sasuke nodded, taking in her words and thinking long and hard about them. He still, no matter how hard he tried, could not picture Sakura actually agreeing and going along with Lee on any number of dates. But as he watched her from where he sat, he had to again remind himself that she'd changed.

"So what about you?" she asked with a strangely positive tone, "Have you, you know, been on like, dates or anything?" She asked, trying to switch the topic back around at him. "I mean, it has been a while, right?"

He could hear the hesitance in her voice as she asked the question; she probably didn't really want to know, but he could understand her painful curiosity.

Honestly speaking, he _certainly_ had many opportunities after receiving countless offers from the different women he'd met upon his travels, but he simply never found himself interested. He could never understand why, but now, as he sat in the same room as the girl he'd fallen in love with all those years ago, it finally made sense.

He shook his head in response, "No."

Sakura looked genuinely surprised. She'd looked anxious and nervous before his response, but she was probably expecting an entirely different answer. "Really? Not one?"

"You sound shocked."

"Well, it's just—no. I just figured, since you always had girls chasing after you, even back when we were kids, I thought maybe it would've gotten worse as we got older?"

Oh, it definitely had. But he wasn't about to let her know that. Even when he thought about how women of all ages would make passes at him, it made him squirm in his seat. "I mean, there were still… admirers." He cringed, hating the way the words sounded on his lips.

"Why didn't you then?"

He shrugged, tracing his finger up and down one of the legs of the chair. "They weren't you."

It took him a full minute after he spoke the words before he fully understood the extent of what he'd just said.

_Shit_.

Looking up at her face, he found her staring back at him. He'd never seen her taken so aback before in his entire life. Even back when he'd kissed her for the first time, she'd looked less shocked than she did now.

"Wh-what?" Her voice was soft, just barely above a whisper. She looked at him with dazed, glossy eyes, as if she wasn't sure whether or not she was hearing correctly or if she was dreaming.

He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't know what to say. Fuck. He hadn't _meant_ to say that outloud! It had just sort of, slipped out without warning. He suddenly found himself opening and closing his mouth, like a fish out of water, searching for something to say—for _anything_ to say.

"I-I'm probably going to uh," he cleared his voice awkwardly before standing up out of the chair, "call it a night and um, head back to my room and all."

He was mumbling. Uchiha Sasuke was stuttering and mumbling over his words and he felt—and probably looked—like a damn fool. He'd never been so embarrassingly nervous over something he'd said before, in his entire 24 years of existence.

Sakura nodded numbly up toward him, still keeping her eyes locked on his face; her jaw still hung open in shock of his words.

"I guess I'll hit the hay, too." Her words sounded spaced-out, as if she were genuinely disoriented by everything going on around her. Gently, she lifted Hana's head, trying to get into a comfortable position to lift the girl into her arms.

"Hang on," Sasuke interrupted, moving toward them, "let me." At his offer, Sakura simply nodded a few times, seemingly unable to form words now.

With careful movements, he placed his arms underneath Hana, lifting her easily into the air. As he followed Sakura's lead into the bedroom, he kept his eyes fixated on the dark-haired girl. After Sasuke had lifted her, she'd immediately readjusted herself, tiredly hooking one arm behind his neck and with her other hand, she gripped the front of his shirt. Watching her, all snuggled up close to him, clinging to him tightly… it made him not want to let go of her.

But before he knew it, he was already lowering her onto the mattress and removing her hold on him. As he straightened back up, he watched Sakura pull the blankets overtop of Hana, tucking her in and kissing her forehead.

Suddenly remembering his words, and feeling extremely awkward again, Sasuke turned and started to slowly make his way toward the front door. He wanted to move a lot quicker to get himself out of there as fast as possible, but he didn't want it to look like he was literally fleeing the scene.

She stopped him just before he reached the door.

"Sasuke."

He turned to see her standing in the doorway of her room and was surprised to see her smiling softly toward him; her perplexed look finally gone.

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to say, thanks."

He nodded toward her, offering her a slight smile of his own. He was secretly relieved that she didn't ask him further about what he said. As he opened the door and stepped outside, the sound of Sakura's voice stopped him once more

"And just so you know, the physical abuse means she doesn't hate you anymore. Just ask Shikamaru. Or Sai."

Sasuke couldn't help but smile to himself at that comment. Turning back toward her, he gave her another, more genuine smile.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

"Goodnight."

That night, instead of falling asleep worrying and fretting over letting a simple sentence slip out, he laid himself down in his bed and slept peacefully—happily even—for the first time in a long time.

His dreams were finally pleasant.

* * *

"I heard that we finally received a reply from Naruto."

Sasuke looked up across the table to meet eyes with his former sensei. "Any news?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I haven't heard anything quite yet. But I'll be meeting up with Gaara in just a little while. You guys will know anything as soon as I do."

Sasuke nodded as he took another bite of his sandwich. Trying not to be obvious, he looked toward Kakashi with a sideways glance. Even after all these years, he couldn't help being curious and simultaneously frustrated over the fact that Kakashi never ate around any of them. Meaning, they'd never seen his face.

As he thought, he did correct himself mentally as he remembered how Sakura told him all those years ago that she'd seen it.

And childish as it may be, he was jealous. But not only had that stayed the same, Sasuke had to repress a great big sigh when Kakashi had pulled out another copy of those damn books he read. He was sure that it had been read at least a dozen times over; the spine of the book was worn and he could see that pages were beginning to slip out. He didn't think he'd ever understand their appeal.

"So," Kakashi peered over the edge of his book, with a curious expression on his face, "Have you seen Sakura or Hana yet today?"

Shaking his head in response he shifted slightly in his seat. For some reason ever since he'd woken up, he'd been strangely anxious.

They'd been in the Hidden Sand for four days now, and Sasuke had just about spent all of his time with the two girls. He'd start the day with them eating breakfast with them in the same cafeteria in which he sat now, and he'd finish the day back at Sakura's temporary apartment, just talking about… whatever really. Their conversations never had much too depth to them, but it was refreshing to talk to someone after going so long without having any sort of real companionship.

He'd also been doing very well at controlling any further slip ups, keeping his private thoughts to himself. Most of the time at least.

Thinking back on a comment he let slip out the night before, he cringed. He kicked himself mentally as he replayed the scene over and over in his head. He'd looked like an idiot. It had been bad enough when it was only Sakura around and conscious to hear it, but this time it was Sakura, Hana, _and_ Ino.

The two older women had been sitting on the couch, simply talking about whatever happened to be on their mind, while Sasuke sat in his chair, lazily watching Hana attempt to make a house of cards.

"I can't wait to get back home," Sakura had said dreamily, pulling her legs up to her chest. "I need a haircut, pronto."

Ino had laughed in response, "I think a haircut is the least of your worries. You still need to gain back, what? Like twenty pounds? You're nothing but skin and bones."

"Don't remind me," she mumbled into her knees, "I look like a damn skeleton. Or a zombie."

"Oh, you don't look like a zombie. You're just a little underweight right now, it's nothing that can't be fixed with a normal diet."

"Please," Sakura scoffed, "the last time I looked in a mirror I scared myself."

"You don't look _that_ bad," Ino, attempting to cheer her up, looked toward Sasuke for some unknown reason. "Right?"

Lifting his eyes from Hana he quickly found Sakura's form, curled up on the couch, peering at him nervously from over her knees. As he stared he watched as Sakura shifted, breaking eye contact and tucking some hair behind her ear.

"I think you look beautiful."

He really wished he had just kept his mouth shut, but he was never one to lie to a person to spare feelings. He supposed Sakura thought he would insult her, but when she heard his words, the same surprised look that she had before suddenly fell upon her features.

"I think you look pretty too, Mom!"

Sasuke was thankful for Hana's interruption, because it temporarily distracted the two women who had been gaping at him, and gave him enough time to collect his thoughts. Before they'd even looked back toward him, he was already standing up, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and spitting out some stupid excuse before turning around and leaving.

"Hm, that's odd. Usually you guys spend the whole day together." Even though Sasuke was trying to only pay attention to his meal, he couldn't help but feel Kakashi's eyes trained on him. "Did anything happen?"

Sasuke purposefully took a while to respond, first choosing to chew and swallow his food before letting his eyes wander lazily over toward Kakashi, all the while trying his best to maintain a good pokerface. But as soon as his eyes met Kakashi's, he _knew_ that the man had some sort of idea of what had happened.

"No," he deadpanned, glaring as Kakashi let out a light chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, nothing…"

As he was thinking up some comment to shoot back at his old sensei, the sound of doors opening and quick, light footsteps running across the tiled floor cause Sasuke to turn around in his seat. Just as he turned his body he found himself face to face with a _very_ excited 7-year-old.

"Hi Dad!" Before he could bring himself to reply she'd practically jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his torso tightly, giggling happily.

"You're in a good mood today," Sasuke mumbled under his breath as he leaned down slightly to return the hug.

"That's because there's a festival tonight and I get to go!"

"Might get to go. _Might_."

At the sound of Sakura's voice, Sasuke looked up just as she approached the table with her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

"But Temari-san said she'd see what she could do, and she always keeps her promises!"

Sakura sighed as she took a seat beside Sasuke. "You just don't know the meaning of 'maybe' yet, do you?"

Hana, who had taken it upon herself to climb into Sasuke's lap, pouted where she sat, refusing to look her mother in the eye. "I just want to do something fun."

Not used to having a sulking child in his lap—or even around him for that matter—Sasuke shifted in his seat, not exactly knowing how to react to her disappointment.

Sakura forced a smile onto her face, "I know you do, Hana. But you know why we can't just say yes."

Hana's frown deepened, her lower lip jutting out more as she nodded a couple of times. "It's not fair."

As he watched her reaction he was suddenly scared that she might start crying at any given moment. Looking over toward Sakura for assistance he anxiously waited for her to do or say something.

"Hey Hana," Kakashi surprised Sasuke by being the one to break the awkward silence, "why don't you go get yourself something to eat, hm? I'll see what I can do for you over here."

Still pouting, but not quite on the verge of tears anymore, Hana nodded once more before hopping off of Sasuke's lap, dragging her feet away from their table.

"I just don't know what to do," Sakura put her head in her hands after Hana was finally out of earshot, "she found out about the stupid thing by accident anyways."

"May I ask how?" Kakashi asked.

"Out on the back deck if you look to the west you can see the main road from there. I took Hana out this morning and she just so happened to see people setting up banners and lamps and all sorts of things." She bit her lip as she peeked over her shoulder, watching Hana grab a plate from a table. "She just started begging me out of _nowhere_ and when I told her 'I don't know' she turned to Temari and started begging her too." She let out a quick, humorless laugh, "I guess Temari didn't know how to react so she just said 'I'll have to check'."

"It's not safe," Sasuke said immediately. "Someone could identify her."

Just the thought of Hana being out on the streets with potentially hundreds upon hundreds of random civilians—_strangers, _he emphasized in his head—made him intensely nervous. It was unknown the amount of people in Suna could be working under Masaru. And with festivals, with people visiting from villages all over the country, there was no telling what kind of people would be in attendance, or how many potential enemies may travel for the festivities.

"I know that, and I think to an extent she knows that too. It's just… I feel so bad. She's been such a good sport through all of this insanity; she hardly complains, and if she does, it's with little comments about how much she misses home, her bed, her friends. Little things like that." Frowning, Sakura shook her head in frustration. "I just don't know what to do!"

Sasuke turned slightly as she spoke, watching Hana idly. She looked so _sad_; it genuinely pained him to see her acting like that. But he knew that her safety came before anything else; he wouldn't know what he'd do if something were to happen to her…

"I'm meeting with Gaara soon," Kakashi commented, "I could ask him his thoughts. Maybe there's a way it could work."

"I don't know…"

"If not, I'll break the news to her myself," he offered, a genuine look in his eye. "But who knows? There could be a simple way for her to be able to go, even if just for a little while."

"I guess just… let me know if you guys can figure anything out."

"Will do." With another smile, he looked past the two, "So Hana, listen to this."

Sasuke watched as she walked back up to the table, placing her plate—which hardly had any food on it—on the table in front of him. She then, while still pouting, proceeded to climb back into his lap, only to sit there and stare at her plate sadly.

Watching his daughter he almost wanted to roll his eyes. He understood that she wanted to do something fun, but he couldn't help but feel she was being just a bit overdramatic. Although as he let his eyes wander toward her mother, he had a feeling he knew where she got it from…

"I have to talk to Gaara soon, so I'm going to ask him if he can help us out here."

"So I can go to the festival?" She looked up at him with wide, watery eyes, still holding her frown steady.

"I'm going to ask, so we'll need to wait and find out. But I promise if we can't, I'll find something else fun for us to do."

"Like giving you another makeover?"

Sasuke had to resist the sudden urge to laugh, especially since Kakashi's expression fell so abruptly. "Uh, maybe something _else_ fun…" The older man let out an uncomfortable laugh before standing himself up and turning to leave. "But I'll see you guys later." And with a slight wave goodbye, Kakashi made his exit.

"Do your best Kaka-san!" Hana yelled, twisting in Sasuke's lap so that she could lean over his shoulder and eagerly wave goodbye.

Finding out how uncomfortable it was to have a squirming child in your lap, Sasuke decided he'd had enough of her digging her knees and hands into his legs. She wasn't heavy but somehow it seemed as if she knew just how to sit so that her tiny, bony body would dig uncomfortably into his thighs.

"Hana," he grunted, finally grabbing hold of her, "you need to sit still." Placing his hands underneath her arms, he turned her around so that she was facing forward once more and sat her back down on his lap.

Hana, as if oblivious to his discomfort, simply smiled to herself, finally deciding to start enjoying her meal. Sasuke allowed his eyes to wander toward Sakura, who had sat silently for the past couple of minutes, and was surprised to find her staring at him with a curious expression on her face. As he raised an eyebrow, she seemed to finally realize that he was staring back at her and quickly averted her eyes.

For a split second he could've sworn he saw her cheeks blush.

"Are you going to come to the festival, too?" Hana asked, bringing both of her parent's attention back toward her. "'Cause it looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun."

Sasuke thought to himself for a moment. Festivals were definitely not his thing. In fact, he had to hold himself back from immediately replying with a stern 'no', due to his distaste of people, noise, and pointless celebration. But thinking back to the potential dangers of her being out in public with so many strangers, he knew he didn't really have a choice anymore.

"I guess I'll have to."

"You don't seem very excited," Hana accused. Sasuke could hear the frown in her voice.

"I'm not," he admitted in reply.

"Why don't you like festivals?"

"I don't particularly like people."

"That's weird." She turned in her seat to peer up at him with a strange look. "You're weird, Dad."

"Tsh." Placing his hand on her head he forced her to turn back around and finish her meal.

Sakura only laughed.

* * *

**A/N:** This is the last chapter until I start up classes again, so if I happen to miss a week here and there, try not to dwell on it too much; i'll be much busier between work and school.

Thanks for all the recommendations! And please keep 'em coming! They're all great so far. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Don't worry, things will start picking up speed again in the next one.

Don't forget to let me know what you think.


	27. Chapter 27

"Mom, we're going to miss all the fun!"

"Hold still," Sakura replied, struggling to hold onto the squirming 7-year-old.

"But the parade started like two minutes ago!"

"You're not going to miss the whole thing."

"Yeah, but I'm gonna miss the good parts."

"If you don't stop moving then we're going to miss _every_ part."

And with that slight threat, Hana seemed to give in, momentarily putting an end to her excited bouncing as Sakura adjusted the hooded jacket on her.

It wasn't usually cold in Suna; at least during the day. But as the sun went down and the night took hold, the wind picked up and cooled down the streets, bringing a much-welcomed breeze to the civilians of the Hidden Sand.

Meeting up with Kakashi again a few hours after their departure had brought both good news and bad news. The good news? Hana could go to the festival under a few different conditions. The bad news? Sasuke knew that it meant he had to go to the stupid thing now.

And as he stared down the alley and toward the main road, he watched people holding strange instruments and playing loud music and dancing and he couldn't help but let out a sigh. This was going to be a rough night.

They were only allowed to go for an hour and one hour only; any longer and it increased the risk of being identified. Apparently Kakashi and Sai were monitoring them from somewhere over their heads on the tops of buildings. But other than that small piece of surveillance, they were pretty much allowed to roam free around the festival.

Hana, having dark hair and eyes much like hundreds of other children who lived in Suna, she didn't need to wear any specific clothing. Sakura on the other hand, with a head full of pink hair that could be spotted and recognized from any distance, had her hair pulled back and a plain-looking scarf wrapped neatly over her head.

To anyone who didn't know any better, they looked just like any other civilians, getting themselves ready for a night out.

"There," Sakura said, zipping Hana's jacket closed, "now we can leave."

Gripping her mother's hand excitedly Hana took off, pulling Sakura after her with impressive strength for a child of her size. As Sasuke let his eyes drift upward, he caught a glimpse of Kakashi standing on the roof of the building to their left.

His ex-sensei merely nodded once toward him—almost imperceptible in the dark and due to their distance from one another—before disappearing back into the night.

Following the two girls out onto the street, Sasuke kept at a slight distance as he tailed them, finally coming to a stop when Hana paused on the side of the street to take in the view of the parading civilians.

He only watched for about a minute before he grew irritated at the mindless 'entertainment' before him. Letting his eyes wander around the wide, busy street, he took in the multiple shops and stands open and buzzing with customers and, of course, more noise. Scanning the crowd he couldn't help but notice a few shinobi not-so-subtly placed around the streets and in the windows of some of the taller buildings.

Security wasn't simply tight for their sake, but due to the influx of visitors from outside villages, many more ninja than usual were put on duty to keep a look out on the parade and an eye out for suspicious activity. And with the knowledge of the added risk Sakura and Hana's presence added, Gaara decided that it was best to be over prepared than underprepared.

Sasuke had to hand it to him, when he heard that Gaara had become the Kazekage, he'd scoffed at the thought of the crazed ninja being put into a power of position. He figured that it was only a matter of time before the powerful village crumbled from the inside out. Yet it wasn't long though before he realized that the man had truly changed. Even back at their confrontation in the Land of Iron all those years before, he'd been shocked and angered at the sight of a normal, mentally-stable Gaara. At the time he felt pity towards him—he'd simply given in to the corruptness of his village, even taking up a political position even though it was to aid the same system that had tried to kill him over and over again.

Thinking about it now, he figured that maybe the feeling that overcame him alongside his fury wasn't pity, but instead misplaced jealousy. Gaara had found what he thought he never would: peace with himself and with his village.

Even after all these years, Sasuke still felt like a fool for doing the things he did as a hate-filled, impulsive teenager. Yet as he thought back to when he allied with the 'good guys' during the war, he could only find himself thankful he'd joined them when he had.

If he'd waited any longer, the possibility of him being executed would have skyrocketed. He'd most likely be dead right now and the Uchiha would have simply ceased to exist.

As the parade went on and as time passed, Sasuke watched as the streets filled with more and more people, looking to get a good view of the spectacle, much like they were. And after a short period of time, he felt a slight tug on his sleeve as a quiet voice reached his ears.

"Dad," he could hardly hear her over all the noise around them. "Where did Mom go?"

Turning his head to find Hana looking up at him with a worried expression, Sasuke had to fight to keep his sudden panic at bay. As he scanned the immediate area, he reached out to her, grabbing her small hand within his and holding tightly. In a flash, his sharingan was activated and he was walking briskly through the crowd, pulling a stumbling child after him.

She had been standing on his left just a few seconds before, there was no way that something could've happened to her while he was standing only a couple of feet away.

His panic was just beginning to surface after a full minute of searching brought him no closer to spotting Sakura in the large crowd. Lifting his eyes he searched the rooftops, luckily spotting Sai staring down at him from a building across the street.

The strange man tilted his head, a curious look on his face as he studied Sasuke. His aloof expression suddenly angered Sasuke, and tempted him to yell out to him in frustration.

With a pointed look, Sai turned his head slightly, nodding back down toward the street only a small distance from where Sasuke stood.

He allowed his eyes to follow Sai's gaze and he soon found himself walking even farther down the street. Without her hair exposed, it was so much more difficult to find Sakura—frustratingly so.

Then without warning, he spotted her just as she turned around and met his eyes. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, he deactivated his sharingan, before guiding Hana over toward Sakura with quick, even steps. She smiled warmly at them as she watched them approach.

"Hey, look what—"

"What do you think you're doing?"

Sakura jumped, slightly taken aback by his harsh tone. "I'm getting us food, what's the—"

"Do you have any idea how careless you're being? How stupid of you it was to just wander off like that?" A small part of him knew that he was being a bit mean, but he was so unbelievably angered by the fact that she'd simply _walked away_ that he couldn't stop himself. "There are people out here who could be looking to kill you just at the mere sight of you, and you decided that walking off would be fine or even _safe_ for that matter! I—I don't get you."

"Sasuke," Sakura's voice was stern as she stepped closer to him, "calm down."

"You can't be serious right now-?"

"_Sasuke_," lifting up a hand she placed it on his shoulder, squeezing tightly as she shot him a concerned look. "You're making a scene." She lowered her voice considerably as she spoke, forcing him to listen carefully in order to hear her.

As he processed her words he let his eyes wander slightly, meeting the curious gazes of several civilians standing nearby. A few whispered to one another before turning their attention back toward the parade before them. A couple of kids giggled before looking away and running off farther down the road.

Sasuke wanted to kick himself. So much for being inconspicuous.

"And I didn't just 'wander off'," she said after he finally met her eyes once more, "I told Hana that I was going to get us something to eat and that I'd be back in just a couple of minutes."

Sasuke turned his attention toward the girl whose hand he was still gripping tightly. Hana looked back up at him with a half-scared, half-guilty expression before trying to offer him a forced smile.

"I may not have been paying attention," she admitted, trying to hide under his arm as her parents stared down at her.

Sakura sighed but smiled at her nonetheless, "I'm sorry that I worried you guys, but it's fine. _I'm_ fine."

"Even if she had remembered what you told her, it's still not smart to go off on your own. Gaara may have people watching, but we still need to be careful." Despite her presence and her assuring words, Sasuke couldn't help but still feel upset by the whole thing.

Smiling once more, Sakura moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, "I know, you're right, and I'm sorry."

Slightly taken aback by her movement, Sasuke found himself suddenly staring back at her, his angry expression falling as he gazed at her. Yet before he could think of anything else to say, or even give her some sort of barely thought up, half-assed reply, her hand had fallen and she'd broken eye contact with him, looking down on Hana instead.

"I was scared," Hana said quietly, still partially hiding herself underneath Sasuke's arm, which she held with much less intensity now that her fear had subsided. "I'm sorry I wasn't listening."

Sakura let out a light laugh, "I could see that. Just try to pay a bit more attention alright? You've got to make sure you listen to what I say, _especially_ when we're out in public."

"Yeah," Hana said frowning, turning to press her face into Sasuke's side. From there she mumbled something almost unintelligible, yet to him it sounded something like, 'I swear I'll listen more'.

"Come on," Sakura said reaching out and readjusting the hood on Hana's head. "We don't want to miss the parade now, do we?"

As Sakura's encouraging words reached her ears, Hana turned her face upward, sporting a bright grin as she shook her head back and forth. "Come on!"

As his stress substantially decreased, he followed behind the two, more closely this time, as Hana and Sakura walked back to their old spot on the side of the road to watch the remainder of the parade. Yet he couldn't help but notice as they got there, there were significantly more civilians gathered along the sidewalks and streets, all of them cheerily enjoying their night.

Seeing as their previous spot was now occupied, the trio opted to stand a little further back, enjoying the festivities from a bit more of a distance than before. And of course, it wasn't long before Hana pulled on his sleeve again, dragging his attention back down to her.

"Dad," she frowned up at him, "I can't _see_."

Sasuke merely stared back at her, wondering what on earth she could expect him to do about it? They would've moved closer to the road if it were possible, but since there were so many people there, even if they tried they would've even be able to squeeze their way up to the front without knocking people out of the way.

And he was almost certain Sakura wouldn't appreciate it if he caused another 'scene', as she called it.

He looked around a bit, trying to see if he could find any sort of answer to the problem she presented him with. When he stumbled upon obstacles on the battlefield, with just a few passing thoughts he could find the solution almost instantaneously. This couldn't be too different.

Eyeing a man standing to his right, a small child perched on his hip, he figured he could've picked her up and just held the same way. He didn't have much of a view either though, so at his height she wouldn't see _too_ much more, but he hoped that since it was higher off the ground than she was currently, she'd be content.

Finding Hana still looking up at him expectantly, he tried not to hesitate in his movements as he reached down and picked her up. Pulling up the memory of Sakura carrying her a few days before, he tried to mimic it, holding her against his side.

Thankfully, she seemed excitedly content as she wrapped her arms around his neck and arched her neck upward to see over as many heads as she could. Adjusting his hold on her so that he only had to support her with one arm, he caught Sakura's gaze.

The smile she wore widely across her face was the first thing that he found himself focusing on. Her eyes were shining with some sort of emotion she couldn't place and for a split second he was almost afraid that she might start crying.

Sakura may be the only person he'd ever met that could look wonderfully happy yet appear to be on the verge of tears at the same time. It was a strange combination of emotions that he didn't think he'd ever truly understand.

Before he could even open his mouth to ask her whether she was alright or not, like usual, Hana interrupted him once more.

"I still can't see very well."

Sasuke sighed, "I don't know what you want me to do about it." Disappointed and slightly annoyed, he frowned; it wasn't as if he could lift her any higher.

Shaking her head, he was almost certain that this was going to be the beginning of some sort of tantrum. But before he could contemplate putting her back down on the ground—in order to avoid any unnecessary frowning, yelling, or tears—she pointed to their left. "Do that!"

Not far away, another child sat on the shoulders of someone, putting them up and over everyone else. He cringed as he saw the child drop some of the food that they were eating into the person's hair.

Sasuke frowned at the girl, feeling as if he'd look utterly ridiculous; he wasn't accustomed to being crawled all over. He wasn't about to become this girl's personal playground. But she looked at him with such anticipation, he just _couldn't_ disappoint her.

Biting his tongue, he didn't speak, yet he did pick her up, placing her over his head so that she could sit high up on his shoulders. Hana giggled happily as she looked out toward the street again.

Suddenly Sasuke felt arms wrap around his head, covering his face and obstructing his view.

"Thank you, dad!" Releasing him from her embrace, she let out another satisfied, happy noise before directing her full attention back to the parade.

Sasuke could see a majority of everything, although he didn't pay much attention to it; he didn't want all the lights and noise to give him a headache. And as his eyes drifted back toward Sakura, he found her once more giving him the same happy, teary-eyed look once more.

He frowned, "What's wrong?" He spoke normally, although with the noise around them he may as well have whispered.

She only smiled back at him, bringing a hand up to her face to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes. "Nothing." She shook her head, looking away for a moment, and when she looked back the smile was still on her face.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're crying."

"No it's just—I'm just happy." Her smile softened as she looked up at Hana, who was attentively watching the festivities.

"So you're crying?"

She laughed lightly, "Don't worry about it."

"I don't get it," his frown deepened. "It's annoying."

Her soft smile turned into a smirk as she rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sasuke."

Ignoring her teasing remark—which he honestly didn't understand—he found himself watching the crowd. Most of the people who were simply walking to and from shops were older, giving the younger people and the children more room to watch from the side of the street. He didn't exactly know how many children were in Suna, but he could almost guarantee that a hefty majority were at this festival.

Sasuke couldn't help when a young girl caught his eye, her light hair falling in front of her face as she stumbled onto all fours, landing roughly in the dirt and sand. Not even a couple seconds afterward, a small woman walked behind the child, picking her up and dusting her clothes off. A man walked behind both of them, smiling as he reached forward and grabbed the tiny girl, tickling her as he collected her small, wiggling form into his arms.

It was there, watching the man carry his daughter away, the woman following close behind, when his eyes widened slightly in realization.

Eyes finding Sakura once more, he found her focusing, just like everyone was, on the parade. Hana's shoes brushed against his shirt every now and then as she wiggled her feet in excitement.

Standing there, amongst hundreds and hundreds of other civilians, they looked just like any other happy family.

And as he thought about it more and more, the same few words embedded themselves in his head.

_Like a family._

_A family._

Years ago, if anyone asked him about his family, be it a shopkeeper trying to make conversation or a neighbor trying to find out more about the quiet young man, Sasuke would either walk away or completely ignore the inquiry altogether.

The family he had was gone. All dead, rotting, and multiple feet underneath the ground, buried in a mass grave only to be forgotten by everyone except for those with access to history books.

That was his family. He would never get another one. He was alone and forgotten and angry and looked upon with eyes of pity and he was vengeful and most importantly he was _alone._

Keeping his eyes focused on Sakura, he watched as a few stray pink strands of hair blew lightly from the side of her scarf in the wind, dancing against the side of her face. He never thought he'd have another family. He never thought he'd get that chance.

This was his chance, right here, right now. He could finally have a family. He could finally be happy.

With one hand, he reached up, holding Hana's foot still, steadying her as she wiggled slightly out of childish excitement. With his other hand, he hesitated, opening and closing it as he fought with himself inwardly.

Sakura seemed to notice something as she turned back to him, watching his movements curiously. Staring back into her eyes he told himself not to hold back, not to turn away. This was his chance. He couldn't pass up this opportunity.

_Like a family_.

Reaching out, he wasted no time in grabbing her hand within his own, gripping it tightly. He could only hope his hand wasn't shaking.

He could barely hear her sharp intake of breath, yet he watched as she jumped ever-so-slightly, looking down at their intertwined hands before shooting her eyes back toward him, her mouth slightly agape as she stared at him, shocked.

This was his family. This could be his home. All he had to do was tell her.

But suddenly his mouth felt dry and his throat had a lump in it that he couldn't seem to get rid of and he just couldn't think of how to form words.

"Sasuke? Wh-what—"

Her voice was a quiet squeak as she watched him carefully with glossy eyes. She held onto his hand just as tightly, seemingly unable to say anything more than a couple words herself.

He could do this. It would be so simple, and it would take no more than a few seconds.

"Sakura, I—" he flinched slightly as he felt Hana pull his hair, frowning as he shook his head, ridding it from her grasp. Looking back down at Sakura he tried again to speak. "I have to tell you someth—" He found himself flinching again in pain. "Ow. Hana, stop it." Reaching up he grabbed her hands, opening her fists and freeing his locks from her fierce grip. As she released his hair she wasted no time in wrapping her hands tightly around his forearm, gripping so tightly that Sasuke almost pulled his arm away. "Stop that." He repeated, looking up at her, getting ready to scold her once more, yet her expression froze him in his tracks.

Her eyes were wide, staring straight out ahead of her. It was then when Sasuke felt her start to shake. Why was she so scared all of a sudden?

Exchanging a quick glance with Sakura, who had noted Hana's behavior just as he did, he turned his head again, looking back up to her as he lifted his other arm to grab her.

"Hana, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, moving in front of Sasuke so she could see her daughter's face.

She looked petrified.

As Sasuke grabbed her, ready to pull her off his shoulders and back on the ground, she lifted a shaky arm and pointed up ahead of her.

Activating his sharingan as he followed her hand, tracing his eyes up the tall building, he didn't have to look long before he found what she was looking for.

Staring back at them, the green-masked man cocked his head to the side, waiting for Sasuke's eyes to find him before revealing the struggling ninja he held tightly in his grip. Without warning, he snapped the ninja's neck before letting him fall out the window and toward the ground below.

The moment the body hit the street below, all hell broke loose.

Across the street civilians started screaming, some even getting hit by the body as it crashed down toward the earth, others running in the opposite direction with crying children in their arms. Sasuke looked away from the chaos for a split second to see something bright careening toward them, and fast.

Watching it approach, he knew there was no way they'd be able to move out of the way in time.

The next few seconds were a blur.

Before the projectile could strike them, Sasuke, Sakura, Hana, and a dozen or so civilians standing on either side of them, suddenly were encased in a purple, glowing ribcage. Only a few seconds after Sasuke summoned Susano'o, the giant skeleton disappeared in a cloud of hazy black smoke, mixing with the gray smoke that rose around them from the impact of the blast.

People ran, screaming, crying, terrified, going in no particular direction and very much resembling frightened animals.

Without skipping a beat, Sasuke handed a crying Hana off to Sakura, turning back to the source only to see the masked man missing from the window. On the rooftops he could see a few ninja—Kakashi being one of them—taking off quickly in one direction, assumedly in pursuit of the man.

He hadn't even taken two steps before a scream stopped him in his tracks.

"DAD!"

The sound of his daughter—his crying, terrified daughter—caused Sasuke to literally stumble over his own feet as he halted the sprint he'd just begun. Head whipping back toward them, he found Sakura, scarf blown off her head with the blast, her pink hair now flying around her face freely, staring back at him with a sobbing Hana in her arms.

"Don't go! Dad, _please_ don't go!"

Her shouting nearly tore his composure in two, the sound shaking him down to the core. He hesitated for a moment, looking toward where everyone had taken off in pursuit of the enemy; he wanted, no—_needed_ to be the one to kill him. If he were eight years younger, he wouldn't have hesitated and would've left _anyone_ behind in order to track down and kill the person who had wronged him.

Now he finally realized that some things could be more important than giving into your impulses and running off to fulfill selfish needs…

With Hana sobbing and begging him to stay, he found himself turning back toward them, walking with quick strides up to them.

"We need to get you two out of here."

"No, Sasuke," Sakura shook her head as she quickly handed Hana back over to him, "I have to stay here."

Before Sasuke could snap back at her and tell her that she was being a reckless, careless idiot, he watched as she took a few steps past him, kneeling down beside the still body of a random civilian.

That's when he first noticed the bodies.

There were at least twenty of them. Some were laying still, rendered unconscious by the blast, others were attempting to crawl away, limbs blown off, and blood staining the sand beneath them.

Once more, he found himself fighting the urge to be selfish. It would be so easy to pull Sakura away from here, ignoring her protests the entire way. But she was older now, she could protect herself, and she was absolutely needed if these people had any chance at surviving.

A couple nearby civilians laid motionlessly, their eyes open and staring blankly out ahead of them, dead. As he spotted the body of a young boy, no older than Hana, lying not too far from them, with his hollow eyes staring right at him, he held Hana closer.

"What the fuck happened!?"

Sharply turning his head as he heard their approach, he watched as Temari, Shikamaru, and Kiba stumbled into the chaotic scene.

As Temari first spotted the bodies, her eyes widened. "We need medics, NOW!" She yelled over her shoulder toward a group of Sand-nin behind her, before running up to the first person she saw trying to crawl away, and kneeling down beside them.

"What happened?" Shikamaru said, approaching Sasuke with Kiba trailing behind him. There was a look of complete shock on his face as he took in the scene.

"The man," Sasuke looked from Shikamaru to Kiba and back to Shikamaru, "the one with the green mask."

Shikamaru ran a hand down his face and Kiba swore loudly.

"I saw Kakashi and Sai running toward the entrance to the village," Shikamaru said, "I can only assume that they're after him."

Sasuke nodded in confirmation.

"If they don't hurry, he'll get away," Kiba quickly replied. "He's too damn fast."

"Sasuke," Shikamaru averted his attention, "you coming?"

It took Sasuke a couple seconds before realizing Shikamaru was waiting for him so that they could help in the chase.

With Hana still clinging to him, crying loudly into his neck, he once more found himself torn. He didn't want to leave her; he had to protect her in case something else happened. Turning back to find Sakura still working on the same body she started on, he knew he couldn't leave her either; she was too focused on healing that he was sure she wouldn't be able to concentrate _and_ watch her back both at once. And leaving Hana alone with her was not an option.

"Here," Kiba said, striding up to him, arms out, "I can take her."

Sasuke said nothing to the man, trying hard not to glare at him or snap at him to get out of his face. He subconsciously held Hana closer to him, but the look on the wolf man's face was serious, genuine even, and Sasuke knew he didn't have many options at this point.

"I'll look after her," Kiba vowed, not taking his eyes of Sasuke, "After both of them."

Only hesitating for another couple of seconds, Sasuke nodded before taking his hands and removing Hana's grip on his neck.

"No no no no no no NO!"

Hana started repeating the word hysterically, watching Sasuke through teary, panicked eyes as he handed her to Kiba.

She struggled in his arms, but the man turned her around, adjusting his hold so that she couldn't kick or scratch at him. Then meeting Sasuke's eyes, he nodded once.

"NO DAD! NO!"

Ripping his eyes away from his hysterical daughter, he nodded back to his comrade. Turning around he watched Sakura once more briefly—she'd still yet to avert her attention from her patient—before looking back to Shikamaru and nodding.

As they took off, Sasuke had to struggle hard to remain in control of himself. All he wanted to do was let his fury take hold of him, but he knew that he couldn't risk it. Thinking back to Hanabi and her wounded leg, he winced inwardly. He didn't want to hurt anyone else.

He did, however, allow his frustration—and his motivation to find this man—to push him further down the streets. Soon enough he found himself flying toward the entrance of the village, leaving Shikamaru somewhere long behind him.

It wasn't long before he spotted the backs of a few Sand ninja, exiting the village and making their way out into the sandy, barren desert. Five minutes later, he almost skidded to a halt as he came across half a dozen or so ninja, stopped in the middle of the desert.

"He couldn't have gotten far—"

"There's no way in hell we'll find him now—"

"That one Leaf guy took to the skies so maybe—"

"He's fucking gone! There's nothing we—"

"We need to get back now—"

Spotting Kakashi, standing a small distance from the rest of the group, he ran up to him, ignoring the rest of the quarrelling ninja.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, slightly out of breath, "Where'd he go?"

Hands on his hips, Kakashi sighed before peeking at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. "We lost sight of him."

"What—How the hell did that happen?"

Kakashi paused, taking a long moment to reply. Before saying anything, he turned toward the rest of the ninja behind them, and then faced Sasuke before shaking his head. "He made two shadow clones while we were running, and the three of them took off in different directions. Hardly a minute after everyone split up, all three disappeared." He sighed, scratching his head, "Even the original."

Realizing that his chance to track down this man and beat all the information out of him that he could suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke was enough to make Sasuke want to scream.

"Sai's in the air right now," Kakashi continued, "We're hoping he'll spot something, but to be honest, I don't think he will."

Frustrated with the situation, Sasuke had to close his eyes and count to himself in order to calm his anger.

He was so close. So fucking close. And now the bastard was gone.

_He'd gotten away_.

Turning back toward the village he started walking before Kakashi stopped him.

"Sasuke," he appeared before him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We're going to find these guys."

"If you find them before I do," he replied, his voice dark, "I still get to kill them."

Kakashi didn't shake his head, nod, or give any sort of response to Sasuke. He merely lowered his hand and stepped to the side, allowing Sasuke to resume his walk back to the village.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked, finally catching up to the group. Sasuke didn't waste any words, instead choosing to only shake his head in reply as he passed him, turning his walk into a swift run.

Not even twenty minutes after running off to chase down the man, Sasuke found himself back in the village and at the scene of the explosion. Trying to calm his anger, he reminded himself repeatedly that both Hana and Sakura were safe. And as long as that held true, nothing else mattered.

The previously-bustling and excitement-filled streets were now deathly quiet and bare, giving off an eerie feeling as he made his way down the road. Spotting Sakura crouched over another person in the distance, he hurried his pace as he observed his surroundings.

Most of the injured villagers had already been moved, transported to the hospital for treatment most likely, yet there were still a couple lying there. He spotted a few other bodies covered in sheets; spotting the tiny covered body of the boy he'd seen before, Sasuke found himself looking away abruptly, a sick feeling erupting in the pit of his stomach.

Stopping to allow a couple of Sand medics to carry another injured civilian away, Sasuke looked toward Sakura, sighing in relief just at the mere sight of her so close, and completely _safe_.

"Sakura."

Her head shot to him, although only briefly, her hair spilling over her shoulders with the movement. Tucking a stand of hair behind her ear, she turned back to the woman lying on the ground, her hand glowing a light green once more as she worked on the injured leg.

"What happened?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "He got away."

Sakura sighed, her head sinking slightly at the news. Neither one of them said anything for a couple minutes. Sasuke simply watched silently as she worked, closing up the gaping wounds, knitting the flesh back together in a way he'd never seen before. He'd heard the others speak highly of her skills as a medical ninja, but he'd never actually witnessed it firsthand. Ino had told him that Sakura was the best medic in all the Leaf, but he'd doubted those words upon hearing them.

Now, he found himself amazingly surprised.

Sakura called across the street to a couple of younger Sand ninja, informing them that the woman was stable enough to be transported, before standing up and watching the two boys carry the woman away.

After they were down the road and almost completely out of sight, being shielded by the dark of the night, Sakura turned toward him, shaking her head sadly.

"Four dead. One Sand shinobi. Three civilians. One was a four year old boy."

He couldn't help but notice when she studied her hands briefly, before wiping them on the front of her shirt. Blood stained her clothes just as much as it did her skin.

"Hana's back at the building," she continued, placing her hands on her hips as she walked up to him, "Kiba and Ino took her back." Biting her lip, she shook her head. Then, leaning her head back, she blinked rapidly, inhaling deeply as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. "We can't stay here much longer. Innocent people are just going to keep dying."

The thought of them not being under the protection of one of the great nations concerned Sasuke immensely. "Is this what was happening back in Konoha?"

She nodded, the look on her face pained, "To a degree, yeah. Almost two dozen people back at the Leaf have died because of this whole mess."

"It's not either of your faults," Sasuke said as he made his way to stand directly in front of her, immediately guessing what she was thinking about. He could see her guilty expression clearly; she may have been greatly different, but she still wore her heart on her sleeve.

She smiled at him sadly, "I try to tell myself that. But it's hard not to take the blame."

"Come on," he said, placing a hand on her back, attempting to guide her back toward the Kazekage tower.

She complied silently, walking alongside him as they made their way down alleyways and back roads until their destination was in sight. He kept his hand placed lightly on her back, almost afraid to remove it. Covered in the blood of the innocent and with a look in her eye that screamed with guilt, he was scared that she was on the verge of completely breaking down. He didn't want to let go and then suddenly have her crumble to the ground, unable to pick herself back up again.

If she were to break, he wouldn't know how to fix her; he wouldn't have a single damn clue. He'd be lost and scared and all he could think was that he needed her to be okay, and stay okay.

"I need to clean up real quick," Sakura said as they entered the building, "I can't let her see me yet."

In the bright lighting of the building, he almost couldn't tear his eyes away from her, caked in dirt and blood. It was a scary thing, to see someone you saw as so gentle, so beautiful, to be covered completely in something you'd expect to see in a nightmare.

He waited silently outside some random bathroom as Sakura 'cleaned up'. When she walked back out a few minutes later, the blood was gone from her hands and face, as well as her shirt.

Startled at the sight of her standing in nothing but shorts and an undershirt, he almost couldn't help it when his eyes quickly scanned over her body. Realizing what he'd done though, he made it a point to only look her in the eyes for the rest of their walk around the building.

They were almost at Sakura's temporary apartment when they ran into Hanabi.

"There you guys are!" She said, her voice full of relief as she jogged up to them. "I've been looking for you."

"Where is everyone?" Sasuke asked. He'd taken note of the deafening silence in most of the building, but he hadn't thought much of it until just now.

"Same place as last week's meeting," she replied. "Almost everyone's there. Hana included."

"Let me grab a shirt real quick," Sakura said, quickening her pace as she opened the door to the living quarters and ran inside.

"We should probably hurry," Hanabi said, a little uneasy, "No one's been able to calm Hana down yet." She looked at him tentatively. "What exactly happened?"

Sasuke looked at the small woman, yet shook his head. "They'll tell you."

"Alright," Sakura said, emerging from the apartment as she quickly threw a shirt over top of her head, "Let's go."

Nodding curtly, Hanabi led the way, keeping her pace brisk as they traveled down hallways and stairwells.

Sasuke should've known that things wouldn't stay so peaceful and so nice for so long. His week of peace was up. The sand in the dial had run out and now he was forced to face the real world. Trying to keep himself calm and collected, he ran over little details in his head.

Sakura and Hana were safe.

They would not be safe for long.

He had to think and act quickly or else they'd be killed.

He could count two men that he needed to kill.

He didn't care the order.

He would kill them and then they'd be safe. They'd _stay_ safe.

Failure wasn't an option. _Death_ wasn't an option. He'd fight and kill and then it would all be over.

His family would finally be safe.

And as he followed closely behind Hanabi as they approached the large double doors leading into the room, he reached over and grabbed Sakura's hand, pretending to ignore the look of shock she gave him.

He would protect the ones he loved, no matter what happened, no matter who stood in his way.

So as they walked into the room, he held Sakura's hand tightly, vowing never to let go.

He'd made his choice.

He wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

**A/N**: This is one of the more 'action-filled' chapters, as you can so clearly see. Please review and let me know what you think.

In other news, classes have started and are already going very well. I read a story the other day who also had a villain named Masaru (funny coincidence). And my boyfriend and I are on a break now so other than crying a lot I've basically been just been sleeping instead of writing. The usual really. But enough about my life and lack of motivation...

Like I said before, I'm going to try and update weekly, but don't be shocked if it doesn't happen; I'm surprised I managed to get this one out this weekend. Either way, things are going to speed up a bit from here. So far I have an additional twenty thousand words that I have yet to post, and I have more than that to write until the story starts getting close to it's ending. But don't worry, I can imagine I'll be updating this throughout the fall and wrapping it up at some point during the winter months. Maybe even by the new year, but I'm not saying that for certain.

Again, please review. I'd like to know your thoughts.


	28. Chapter 28

He didn't know what time it was, but he had to guess that sunrise wasn't too far away. Of course, Sasuke would never really know since there were no damn windows in either of their apartments.

Glancing down at the sleeping child in his arms, he almost didn't want to put her down, but as he approached the bed, he lowered her slowly, tucking her underneath the covers before tentatively turning back around, leaving her behind.

Sakura stood in the doorway of the bedroom, watching him deposit Hana on the bed. Smiling softly, almost sadly, she waited for him to exit before closing the door behind them.

"I was beginning to think she'd never fall asleep," Sakura commented as they walked back over to the couch.

When they'd finally gotten back to Hana earlier in the night, they'd walked into the room to see Ino sitting on the couch on the opposite side of the room, with Hana in her lap. The girl's crying was drowning out any other sound in the entire room. Sitting before the two of them was Akamaru, whining sadly as he leaned over and licked her foot every couple seconds.

The moment Ino spotted them, she struggled to get Hana to open her eyes, and when the girl finally brought her hands down from her face, she jumped out of Ino's arms, running across the room as fast as she could, crashing herself into Sakura's arms.

She'd been crying on and off ever since the meeting, which had been over seven or eight hours before. Honestly, Sasuke couldn't really remember. He'd lost track of time around midnight.

"I'm almost hoping she'll sleep through the day," Sakura commented, sitting herself roughly on the old couch. "That way, I'll be able to at least get a little bit of a nap in."

"You should sleep now," Sasuke commented, sitting beside her on the couch, frowning as he watched Sakura simultaneously shake her head and yawn.

"No matter how tired I am, I'm not going to be able to sleep for long. There's no use trying now anyway, I'm too anxious."

Now _that_ Sasuke could understand.

To his undying relief, Gaara had informed them, via Temari, that Sakura and Hana were still free to stay as long as they needed to. Or at least until they made other plans to travel somewhere else. The way Temari passed along the message was almost awkward. Sasuke could tell that the woman was trying hard to make it seem as if they didn't really need to move and that they were welcome as long as they could, but the way she was wording things also gave them the feeling that Suna was tentative with them remaining there any longer.

"I'm going to need to think of what to do next," Sakura mumbled tiredly after a few minutes of silence.

"Simple. Stay here."

"That's not simple." She shot him an annoyed look. "You know that Sasuke."

"It's _smart_," he corrected. "Suna provides you two with the best protection you're going to get outside of Konoha."

"And they can still break through that security," she reminded with a tense look. "If we don't find a way to track down and stop these guys, we're going to end up back on the road again."

"Not while I'm around," he growled. "I'm going to find them and kill them."

"I hope you do," Sakura agreed, "but not on your own."

"We'll see."

"No, Sasuke. Damnit!" Frustrated, she hit the side of the couch hard, causing the old wood and springs to creak and groan under the sudden impact. "If you go off on your own, you'll die. Don't go thinking you're invincible."

"If this guy wants the sharingan, he can fight _me_ for them."

She didn't speak again for a few moments, although Sasuke could almost feel her glare digging into the side of his face. After a few more minutes of silence, he turned his head toward her, watching her curiously.

She'd brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging them close to her body. Upon noting his eyes on her, she met his stare, sighing tiredly behind her knees before lifting her head back up.

"I feel like I'm living in a nightmare."

Sasuke frowned at her as they fell into silence again. Her hopeless words scared him.

At the earlier meeting, Temari had informed everyone of the situation, after which she immediately got everyone involved in brainstorming what path they should choose next. The room heard many replies of people wanting to go and search the desert some more, and also quite a few people who were in favor of trying to set up some sort of trap to draw them into.

After a while, Shikamaru entered the room and upon hearing everyone's ideas, he shut down each and every one of them.

He then explained to them all, much to Sasuke's anger and chagrin, that there were two possibilities: First, the man could have never even been in the village to begin with. He could've simply been using a shadow clone to sneak into the village, cause some chaos, and then run off, leaving them with a few false leads.

The other possibility he informed them of was the one that angered him the most. He theorized that the man could still be in the village, just hiding away somewhere and waiting for the panic to subside. That was when he informed everyone that the village was on a strict lock down. No one could come in or leave the village for a full 24 hours. Gaara had all of his sensory units roaming the village, searching thoroughly for any sign of the masked man.

As for Sakura and Hana, before leaving the meeting, when Temari informed them about Gaara's message, the Sand kunoichi also told them that unfortunately, the two weren't allowed to wander around the village anymore. Including going outside to any sort of degree.

Sasuke almost felt bad for Temari; almost. He could tell she felt guilty about the entire situation just by the look on her face, but he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for anyone to any extent. _They_ weren't the ones these guys were after.

Almost subconsciously, Sasuke found himself reaching out toward Sakura, placing a hand gently on one of the arms she kept wrapped around her legs. Looking up at him, his heart almost broke simply seeing the hopeless look she held. He almost couldn't bear to see her like that. Suddenly, as he stared into her eyes, he remembered what he had been planning on doing earlier that night.

But they weren't surrounded by laughter and dancing and celebration anymore. Now a heavy hopelessness filled the air, bearing down on his shoulders; it was almost suffocating. He'd felt as if the moment had been perfect before, but now, he wasn't so sure…

He watched as she lowered her legs back down in front of her, moving her arms slightly so that he was holding her hand now. Then, leaning into him slightly, she rested her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to close her eyes as they sat side by side with their hands intertwined.

Sasuke had told her that she'd be the first to know when he finally made up his mind. He had to keep good on his promise.

As he watched her from above, he held his breath, working up as much courage as he could in order to speak the words he'd been trying to all night long.

"I'm returning to Konoha."

Before Sakura replied, he felt her grip on his hand tighten immediately.

"Really?"

He could hear that she was trying to keep her voice steady, but her voice hitched slightly with her question. Sakura remained still, her head still resting on Sasuke's shoulder, although not as comfortably as before.

"Yes." He confirmed. "After this is done. I'm coming back."

Her grip held strong as he waited for her to reply. After a couple of minutes, she turned her face, burying it in his side. Releasing her hand and lifting his arm he draped it across her back, holding her curled-up form against him. With his other hand he reached over and once more grabbed her hand.

A long time passed and after a while Sasuke was starting to think that she may have fallen asleep. It wasn't until he felt her smile, when he knew she was still wide awake.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his side, before lifting her head and finally looking him in the eye.

Sasuke swallowed, nervous under her gaze as he took in the emotions that she was always just _so bad_ at hiding. Not knowing what else to say, he nodded a few times, squeezing her hand in an attempt at reassurance.

With every gesture, he felt more and more awkward, unsure whether or not he was doing things correctly. He was trying so very, very hard to show her how he felt, but he'd never been an emotional or an affectionate person, so he found himself struggling more and more with every word he spoke.

But having her there by his side, curled up against him with her hand in his, it felt almost right, as if this was the way things were supposed to be.

Of course hiding out with them, miles and miles from the village they called home, waiting almost like sitting ducks to be hunted down and killed, this was the last place he wanted them to be.

"I just," he hesitated, trying hard to force himself to get the words out, "I want to be there," he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, failing miserably, "for her." He bit the inside of his cheek as he turned toward her, studying her face as he spoke. "I want to make up for… for things."

Sakura smiled at him, her eyes glowing and her face bright and cheery yet of course at the same time she managed to look as if she were seconds away from crying. "You're doing a good job, Sasuke. Hana loves you." She laughed lightly upon seeing his face. "Oh, don't look so shocked. You're her father. She'll always love you."

"She hardly knows me."

Sakura again laughed, shaking her head. "She's learning more and more about you every day. Before you know it, she'll know everything there is to know."

Sasuke's expression immediately fell as he averted his eyes. "I hope not."

"Hey," reaching out, Sakura placed her hand on the side of his face, turning his head so that he was facing her once more, "don't go all 'self-loathing' on me now. And don't make me repeat myself. She _loves_ you. I know there are things you don't want her knowing about you, and she doesn't have to know, _yet_. She's only seven, Sasuke. Hell, there's a lot she doesn't know." She shrugged, "But of course I'll leave it up to you to decide exactly what you want to tell her and when."

"She told me a while ago," Sasuke said, thinking to himself, "that some people would call her names. When I finally told her who I was, she already knew the word 'Uchiha'."

Sakura grimaced. "It happened a lot more often when she was younger, but every now and then a bunch of bitter assholes would start talking about her, referring to her as 'the Uchiha child'. Hana never paid much attention to what they were saying, but none of it was ever nice."

He nodded, frowning just as much as she was at the words. "It will be strange to be back."

"Probably," she agreed, "but you'll be able to be a ninja again, I'm sure that will be nice."

He nodded, not even hesitating as he agreed with her. For years now he'd missed the thrill of everything. Going on missions and chasing down enemy shinobi and reveling in the adrenaline rush he'd get from running so much.

"Thank you," she repeated again, bringing him out of his thoughts, "for telling me so soon."

He nodded curtly, looking away from her soft gaze, feeling as if he didn't truly deserve her gratitude. Only when he'd killed everyone who posed a threat to them… only _then_ would he accept her thanks.

Sasuke hadn't been paying attention, but when he felt her, ever-so-softly, press her lips against his cheek, he froze slightly. Not sure how to react, he turned toward her, his face giving away his surprise at her gesture.

He could hardly tear his gaze away from her face, his eyes lingering for a bit too long on her lips, and for a split-second all he wanted to do was lean down and kiss her. God, it had been so long since he'd kissed her and touched her—_really_ touched her. For a moment, he almost just ignored everything else in the room and grabbed her to crush his lips against hers.

Almost.

But as a door squeaked open, he found himself backpedaling.

"Mom? Dad?" Standing in the doorway and rubbing her eyes tiredly, Hana pouted at them, gaining their attention immediately.

"Hey sweetie," Sakura said, disentangling herself from Sasuke before standing up and walking toward her, "is everything okay?"

"I had a nightmare," she admitted quietly, her lower lip quivering as she held in her tears.

"Oh, honey," smiling softly, Sakura leaned down, wiping away a tear the moment it fell down her small face. "It was just a dream. Everything is alright."

"No," she immediately replied, sniffling, "no it's not. He's going to kill everyone."

"What? Who?" Sakura shot Sasuke a quick, almost panicked look. "What are you talking about, Hana?"

"The man in the mask. And the man in the white. They're going to kill everyone because of me. It's all my fault." Her words turned into sobs, and soon enough, Hana was inconsolable.

Sakura collected the girl in her arms, standing up and cooing comforting words into her ear. But all Hana kept repeating was one phrase over and over again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry Mommy I'm sorry!"

After a couple of minutes of failed attempts at calming the girl, Sakura sat herself on the floor, her back toward Sasuke as she held their daughter closely to her. "It's okay," she said in an unsteady voice, "Hana, it's going to be okay."

It wasn't long before he realized that Sakura was crying, too.

Suddenly, he was angry. No, angry was a terrible understatement. He was furious and disgusted and he was sure that he'd never been so frustrated in his entire life. He was going to kill them, both of them, and he was going to enjoy every damn second of it. He didn't care how. No one would ever, _ever_ hurt them again like they were hurting now.

Trying to push his fury to the sideline, he walked up behind Sakura, leaning down beside her and wrapping his arms around the two crying girls.

_Stop,_ he begged silently, the sound of their tears ripping his heart into pieces. _Please, please stop._

"I'm going to fix this," he said, his voice holding so much certainty that it caused Hana to pause in her hysteria and stare at him. "I'm going to fix it," he repeated, looking her in the eye—the same dark, powerful eyes he held—as he made his vow. "I'm going to fix everything, and then I'm going to come back to Konoha."

Over the course of the next couple of minutes, Hana's crying quieted, the hysteria seeming to ebb as she watched her father with tear-filled eyes. "And then," she hiccupped, pressing the side of her face against her mother's chest, "and then I can show you my room?"

He smiled at her suddenly, the innocence of her statement making his chest tighten again. "You can show me whatever you'd like. But you have to believe me; I'm going to fix things."

"And then we can go home," she whimpered softly to him, closing her eyes as Sakura kissed her forehead.

"And then we can go home," Sakura repeated, her own tears having subsided minutes before. "We can all go home," she looked at Sasuke, mustering up a smile, "and we can be a family."

He nodded a few times. He may not be able to voice his agreement in the way he'd like, but as she put his feelings into words the best thing he could do was agree fervently. Leaning forward he wrapped his arms back around her, listening as Sakura whispered more reassuring words to Hana, reminding her every couple minutes that she loved her.

As he sat there on the cold, hard floor, holding his family in his arms, Sasuke could only hope that one day he'd be able to word his feelings as well as she could.

* * *

"I told her that I'd try to tell her as much as I could, but honestly I know as much as anyone else does. You're obviously the only person that can tell her what she wants to know."

Sasuke listened attentively to Sakura, following her through the aisles upon aisles of books. The walls of the library were filled with more textbooks, encyclopedias, novels, and journals than he'd ever seen before in his entire life. He had thought that he was well-read, but he didn't recognize a single title on any of the spines he read while they walked. But of course, this was over a hundred years worth of literature and information that Suna had collected ever since it's foundation.

"I'll tell her what she wants to know," he said, hands shoved into his pockets as he followed her closely. "I can't imagine what she'd possibly want to know other than the obvious."

"I don't know, Sasuke," Sakura shrugged, pausing and pulling a book off of a shelf, "I don't have the sharingan, so it's not something I can really help with."

Leaning back slightly, he looked down the aisle and toward the far end of the extensive library, finding Hana sitting at a table, poking through some old picture book that Sakura had found for her. Looking back toward Sakura, he raised an eyebrow. "And what will you be doing?"

"Research," she explained simply. "Honestly it's not something that I _have_ to be doing, but it's been so long since I've done something work-related, I hope it'll help me get back on my feet."

"You seemed to be doing well yesterday," Sasuke said, referring to the incident with the masked-man that he didn't exactly like talking about.

"I'm pretty rusty," she admitted, "and that'll go away with time, but I need to make sure I keep my mind sharp. Besides," she stopped again, pulling out a rather thick textbook, "this will help pass the time while we wait to hear back from Naruto."

The last thing that Sasuke had been told was that there was a possibility that Sakura and Hana could be returning once more to Konoha. Of course, since it wasn't set in stone they had yet to inform Hana of this; they didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed in case they actually didn't return.

"Go on," she said, nudging him slightly with the large text as she nodded toward Hana, "go teach her Uchiha things."

Rolling his eyes he turned, slowly making his way down the aisle and toward Hana. By the time he reached her, she pushed the worn-out book away from her in frustration, crossing her arms and glaring as he approached.

"This is dumb," she said, pouting, "I don't want to read this kid stuff."

Sasuke momentarily ignored her childish complaints as he sat himself in a chair beside her. "Then don't."

"I told Mom I want to know more about the sharin-thing."

"Sharingan," Sasuke corrected sternly. "And that's why I'm here."

"Sha-rin-gan," she repeated slowly, smiling contently to herself when she got the pronounciation correct, "Cool. I have that, right? The sharingan?"

"Yes."

"And that's what these guys want, right?"

Sasuke grimaced, "Right."

"I don't get it. That seems like a stupid thing to want."

Sasuke scoffed, "The sharingan is single-handedly the most powerful kekkei-genkai in existence," he spoke proudly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Do not call it stupid. It was what makes the Uchiha clan so powerful."

"Why haven't I ever heard of the Uchiha before?"

"There aren't… many of us left."

"Oh," Hana thought to herself for a moment, "is that why they're going after me?"

"Yes."

"That's stupid. They're adults and they're chasing a little girl. They're stupid."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her words, agreeing silently with her conclusion. Turning toward her, he studied her face for a long moment. "Do you know how to activate them?"

"What? The sharingan?" As Sasuke nodded in approval, she shrugged. "I mean, I've never really _tried_ before. I don't know if I can even do it."

"You can," he immediately replied, "I've seen you do it."

"What? When?!"

"Before we got to Konoha, when Masaru attacked."

He watched as Hana flinched noticeably at the memory, her shoulders hunching and her eyes staring down toward her feet. Sasuke waited a couple of minutes for her to look back up at him and nod before continuing.

"When you got back to me," he explained, attempting to soften his voice for her sake, "and when you looked at me, you had them activated."

"Oh, wow." She looked at him with an amazed expression. "Did I look cool?"

"That's not the point," he said, trying to keep his patience under control, "Now think. Do you remember seeing things differently? Or do remember how things looked?"

"Oh yeah, definitely!" She nodded enthusiastically. "I could see everything so much better—like, even better than _usual_—and like everything looked like it was in slow-motion kinda? But I mean not exactly cause things were moving really, really fast, but I could see _evvvverrything_!" She emphasized her last word by spreading her arms out wide around her, dragging the word out as she grinned up at him.

"That's one of the main benefits of the sharingan," he nodded, halfway pleased with her response. "You'll never have trouble keeping up with a fight for as long as you live if you have the sharingan."

"Awesome! Now how do I do it?"

"What? Activate it?"

"Uh, duh! I want to try it out!"

"You just have to concentrate," he said, trying hard to think back to his own childhood. The first time he'd activated them outside of a battle had been a bit difficult; and he'd been almost twice her age. He distinctly remembered standing in front of a mirror for a couple hours as he frustratingly tried to activate them on his own. "Try and concentrate your chakra to a point behind your eyes. Then when you feel this… tugging sensation, you just sort of…" Frowning to himself at his inability to explain it well, he shut his mouth and turned toward her. "Just watch."

He made sure she was making eye contact with him before he activated his own sharingan for her, allowing her to watch as his eye changed from black to bright-red.

Eyes widening in awe, she immediately reached forward, startling Sasuke by grabbing his head in between her hands and staring closely into his eyes. "Do my eyes look like this?"

"Somewhat, yes."

"But," she furrowed her brow, thinking hard, "your eyes looked different the last time I saw them like this."

"You mean," he blinked a couple of times before activating his mangekyou sharingan, "like this?"

"THAT LOOKS SO COOL!"

Hearing the sound of sharp '_shh_'-ing coming somewhere from in the library—from Sakura, most likely—Hana slapped her hands over her mouth, looking sheepishly at Sasuke.

"That's looks so _cool_," she repeated, whispering this time. "How do I get those?"

"You don't," he replied immediately, deactivating them and allowing his eyes to return to their original black. "It's something that only I can do."

"Aw, that's no fair—"

"Hana," he said sternly, cutting off her childish complaint, "I'll… tell you about it when you're older. But for now, don't worry about it."

A little taken aback by Sasuke's sudden anger, Hana nodded silently, sitting herself back down in her chair as she stared at the table in front of her. Sasuke groaned inwardly as he watched her sit there sadly. He wasn't used to watching his tone, so the fact that he needed to learn when _not_ to snap was something he never thought he'd need to do.

"Come on," he said, trying as hard as he could to be assuring, "give it a try."

"Okay," she said quietly, placing her hands on her knees and closing her eyes. "Got it!"

As he watched her concentrate, Sasuke mentally began preparing himself for a long and tiring afternoon. He knew how impatient and moody Hana could be, and that was only after knowing her for about a month. When it came to this—learning how to activate the sharingan—he could only imagine how frustrated she was going to get with the task.

"Did I do it?"

Yet somehow he never considered the fact that she actually may be able to do it as quickly as she did.

Staring into her bright-red eyes, he found himself honestly, thoroughly shocked. Unable to give any other sort of immediate response, he nodded a couple of times, watching as her face slowly broke into a wide grin.

"NO WAY!"

Jumping off her seat, Hana immediately started running; Sasuke could hear her quick, short footsteps run across the hard library floor. He could only assume she was seeking out Sakura, excited to show her the new 'trick' she'd learnt.

And when Hana came running back sporting a grin unlike anything he'd ever seen, he averted his eyes as he watched Sakura slowly walking after her, her expression shocked.

"I look so _cool_," Hana commented, leaning down to look at her faint reflection off of the hard metal chair. "Hey, I'm gonna be right back!"

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked, her wide eyes watching as Hana skipped toward the exit.

"To the bathroom! I wanna look at myself in the mirror!" And with one quick wave, Hana had exited the library, the door closing behind her with a loud bang.

"She actually did it," Sakura said, hardly believing her eyes as she turned and sat across from Sasuke. Placing a few heavy books on the table before her, she shook her head, rubbing her temples as she stared at the covers of the texts in front of her. "I didn't think she'd be able to do it."

"When I was a child, most people didn't activate their sharingan until they were of age. I think 17 years old was the average." Sasuke explained, still not taking his eyes off of the door that Hana had run through.

"So you were young too. Right?"

"A little," he shrugged, "Nothing like Itachi."

"So this is…" Sakura waved a hand toward the exit, her face still displaying her shock.

"Unusual," Sasuke said, completing her sentence for her. "Yes. Very much so." Turning back around in his chair so that he was facing Sakura again, he crossed his arms, focusing on something. "The thing is, I saw her with them a few weeks ago when we got to Konoha. But I don't know if that was when she activated them first or not."

"So you're saying there's a chance that she could've already activated them before that?"

"Possibly," Sasuke shrugged, "But she didn't even realize she'd activated them, so I highly doubt she'd know."

Turning his head back toward the doors at the end of the room, Sasuke watched them, listening closely as the faint giggling of a young girl grew louder and louder as Hana approached. As she pushed open the doors, she wasted no time in running back up to her parents, jumping over the back of her chair before sitting herself beside Sasuke once more.

"Well, now that you know what you're doing, you need to make sure that you only use the sharingan when it's necessary." Sasuke was trying to make sure he didn't lose her attention while he had it. He didn't need her running off only to mindlessly explore her new ability around the large building. "And right now it's not necessary."

"Oh," her expression deflated slightly, but she nodded and deactivated them nonetheless, "Are they gone yet?"

Sasuke nodded, "Good." As Sakura caught his eye he suddenly remembered the reason he'd agreed to going over all of this with her in the first place. "Do you have any questions about it?"

"Ummm," Hana hummed as she concentrated, thinking intently as she swung her legs back and forth underneath her chair. "Can I train with them activated? Oh, and how many other Uchihas are there?"

"Yes and…" he hesitated, not wanting to have to tell her about the demise of their clan just yet, "that's very… complicated. I promise to tell you one day."

Hana pouted, "Why can't I know now?"

"Hana it's a very long story," Sakura jumped in, trying to steer the girl off the topic, "your father will tell you when you're older."

The child sighed overdramatically, "Yeah, fine. Whatever." Leaning forward she placed her arms on the table, resting her head on them as she continued to swing her legs. "I'm bored now."

"You can go pick out another book if you'd like," Sakura offered, opening one of the textbooks she'd picked out. "Or you can go take a nap. I saw there was a couch right behind that shelf over there."

"I'm napping," she grumbled, scooting her chair back before hopping down and dragging her feet across the floor. "Wake me when we're leaving."

Watching her trudge away, Sasuke rolled his eyes as he turned back to Sakura. "She can be a bit of a brat sometimes."

Sakura laughed lightly, now focusing on the book she had opened before her. "She's a bit of a drama queen, but she's just very curious; she likes to know _everything_." Smirking, Sakura peeked up at him from her reading, her smile widening as she found his eyes trained on her. "You know, sometimes I forget how much she looks like you. But oh _man_, when she came up to me to show me her sharingan?" Sakura blew a quick breath of air out of her mouth, shaking her head once. "She's like a mini-you."

"She acts like you though." Sasuke commented. "Loud, talkative, persistent, emotional, stubborn, _loud_," he repeated, emphasizing the trait with a pointed look toward her.

"Please," Sakura scoffed, "You're describing me as a child. You may have known me then, Sasuke, but to be honest you really don't know much about how I am now."

The tone she spoke with made the comment come off as light-hearted, teasing almost, but he couldn't help but repeat her words a few times in his head, frowning as he analyzed them.

Sakura was completely right. He really had no idea who she really was. A majority of the memories he had of her were from when they were children. Then there were a few not-so-great memories from the days when he was defected from Konoha. Some days he wished he could simply erase the memories from his head and pretend like they'd never happened. Of course he knew how useless that was.

His favorite memories were from when they were preparing for war. Tired from training, stressed about the war, and not honestly knowing whether or not they'd live to see the end of the war; you wouldn't think that it would be a time that anyone would honestly want to remember. But years ago, after the war had ended, he thrived off of those memories, sometimes even depending on them to help him sleep at night.

Falling in love was an event that he supposed everyone probably remembered. Sometimes he wished he could pinpoint the exact moment when it happened, but he hadn't even realized the extent of his feelings until it was too late.

Funny how things worked like that.

"Naruto tried telling me you're not as violent as you used to be," Sasuke commented after a short silence, smirking to himself, "somehow I don't know if I believe that or not."

Sakura let out a genuine laugh. "I don't hit him anymore, if that's what he means by 'less violent'. But I mean," she shrugged, "I have my moments sometimes."

"Do you not go on missions?" He asked, curious with her nonchalant response.

He was genuinely shocked to see her shaking her head. "Not in a while. I think the last mission I went on was when Hana was two or three. I spend most of my time in the hospital," she lifted a book as an example, "or at home with Hana."

"Do you miss it?"

Sakura thought to herself for a long moment before shrugging. "Sometimes I do. Like when Ino or Kakashi or really when anyone leaves for an extended period of time for missions, it makes me miss it just a little bit. But," she let her eyes wander toward where Hana had walked away, "I'd rather be safe in the village than out doing missions and risking my life every day." She let her eyes meet his briefly before glancing back down at her textbook. "I can't just think about myself anymore, you know."

Sasuke didn't even hesitate when he nodded a couple times, finally understanding her words.

"I mean, maybe when Hana's older I might go on missions again, but I'm not really focused too much on that anyways. I like it at the hospital."

He watched as she soon enveloped herself in the thick book, her eyes scanning over the pages, studying them intently, before turning the page and doing the same process all over again. There were just so many things he wanted to ask her; so much information he simply didn't know. A part of him wished that he could just sit at that stupid table with her, learning as much about her as he could, but with the way things were, it just seemed pointless. Out of place, really.

He supposed that when the circumstances were different and when they were no longer being hunted, he could do just that; sit with her somewhere and just talk.

"When we get back to the village," he abruptly paused with his words, trying to push his hesitation aside as he watched her intently, "I'd like to…" he paused again, desperately trying to find the right words, "go somewhere." He cleared his throat, "With you."

Sakura paused, lifting her head up only to stare at him with a raised eyebrow. "Go somewhere?"

"With you."

"With me?" She repeated, her confusion intensifying as she studied him. "Is this—" her expression changed from confused to surprised in a split-second, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"I mean," he thought to himself momentarily. Is that really what he was doing? As he thought about it, he supposed it was. He didn't like actually referring to it as a 'date' though. Something about the word seemed so childish and immature when he repeated it in his head. Pulling himself back out of his thoughts, he looked at her and shrugged slightly. "Yes."

"I, um—wow." Caught off-guard by his sudden offer, Sakura blinked a few times, turning her head back down toward her text as she did so. Over the course of the following minute Sasuke anxiously watched as she nervously tapped her fingers against the pages of the book, shaking her head after she lost her concentration. Slowly, she closed the book, placing it back on the pile before inhaling deeply and—_finally —_meeting his eyes. "I'd like to," Sasuke almost sighed in relief, "but…"

Yet the word she tacked on the end of her sentence kept him holding his breath.

He sat there, waiting patiently for her to continue, not even knowing what to expect to come out of her mouth. If he'd asked her this question ten years ago, he was sure without a doubt she would've accepted eagerly. But she was right. Everything was different now, including her.

So when she denied his offer, he didn't know how to react.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd like to. Really, I would," she spoke the words quickly, almost as if regretting her response, "But I need to…" she inhaled deeply, "I have other things I need to think about right now. I can't start thinking about—" her words abruptly cut off as she waved a hand lazily in the air, as if the motion filled in the blanks she left for him.

Sasuke almost opened his mouth again to remind her that he was asking about _after_ they returned to the village, but as the last second he stopped himself. Sakura wasn't dumb and she wasn't hard of hearing; she'd most definitely heard everything he said. He just couldn't understand why she was passing up his offer. So many people—Naruto, Ino, Kakashi—had just about confirmed to him that she still had feelings for him, so why was she turning him away?

For what seemed like the hundredth time since she was finally located all those weeks ago, Sasuke found himself doubting her feelings for him.

"I'm sorry," she tried to force a smile on her face, but it looked pained, "really, Sasuke. I am. But uh," he watched as she stood, picking her books up off the table, "I'm going to grab Hana and take her back to our room."

He merely nodded a couple of times, still stunned with the situation at hand. Silently, he watched her turn around and walk away, only tearing his eyes away from her form when she walked behind the cover of a couple of bookcases. Looking down at his hands in his lap, he stared at them quietly, even shocked at his own actions as well. He'd asked her out on a date.

Uchiha Sasuke had asked Haruno Sakura to go on a date with him.

And she'd turned him down.

He had to resist the urge to let out a quick, bitter laugh at his own expense. He supposed that he was finally experiencing the same type of rejection that he'd presented to her over and over again all those years ago.

But of course, when a good opportunity was presented to him, like always he found himself being just out of reach of seizing it. With a shake of his head he dragged himself onto his feet and out of the library, his shoulders slumped the entire walk back to his room.

And for the thousandth time throughout his life, as his head hit his pillow, he wished that he'd chosen a different path. He wished he'd done things differently. Maybe then, things would have finally gone his way.

He could only thank Karma for that.

* * *

**A/N**: Oh Sasuke. You shouldn't have been such a little shit when you were younger.

I'd like to thank you all for the reviews and the kind messages I received after the last chapter. Life is going pretty good and I'm doing pretty well, so again, thank you!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. If not, then oh well. Now that the manga is getting crazier and crazier, I've been focusing more on reading the real Naruto then writing this. Sorry, but trust me when I say that this story is still my priority when it comes to writing.

If you're on Tumblr, feel free to follow my naruto blog (flowerslut). It's mainly filled with fanart, the occasional fanfic recommendation, a bunch of random prompts people have given me, and also previews for the upcoming chapters of Changing Skies. Go ahead and check it out if you'd like. The next chapter will be posted around this time next week if all goes according to plan.


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